


Until You

by Dmnq8



Series: Until You [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dark fic, Dark!Sasuke, F/M, Light pedophilia, M/M, Multi, Some Uchihacest, references to cannibalism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2009-06-24
Updated: 2009-07-24
Packaged: 2018-02-12 04:55:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 9
Words: 51,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2096520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dmnq8/pseuds/Dmnq8
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Village bully meets village outcast. Will they each let the other in? </p><p>NaruSasu.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Sasuke was surrounded. He counted seven boys, all his age or older. Some held actual ninja weapons, others had chains or clubs. He adjusted his ragged shirt on his shoulders and grinned cockily. "Don't be shy, boys! There's plenty for everyone."

"Quit the macho act, Uchiha. We're finally taking you down," one beefy boy said.

"Yeah," another chimed in. "You've terrorized the kids in this village, namely our brothers and sisters, long enough."

A third boy added his two cents. "Just because your brother murdered your clan and you're all alone doesn't mean you can-"

Sasuke yawned ostentatiously. "Yeah, what the fuck ever. You wanna get your asses kicked or not? Step up, faggot."

The boy cursed in rage as he rushed the tall grimy Uchiha. Sasuke grabbed his head and slammed his knee into the boy's face. He dropped him, stepped over his unconscious body and maneuvered himself into a position to receive his other attackers all in one smooth move.

It was a valiant effort on the boys' part, but wasted. Sasuke didn't even have to try. He was quick and they weren't. Fighting was his food and drink, they were kids who'd barely graduated from the academy.

Most importantly, they lacked hatred, came from warm loving families, while he…he was a gutter rat, survival was his daily bread and there was nothing soft, warm or loving about Uchiha Sasuke.

He gave the last boy a twist of his arm, breaking it in at least three places before he calmly stripped the clothes off the largest boy and examined them. Not bad. They just might fit. They were a bit wide, but they looked long enough.

Sasuke tucked the garments into the pack he kept strapped to his back as he sauntered off. A glance at the sun showed it to be close to evening. Another hour and the sun would set. Time to find some food.

-oOo-

The usual place to do this was outside a take-out restaurant. He'd lean casually against a building in sight of the targeted establishment and wait for some idiot to come outside with his purchases. Sasuke would follow the fool, wait till they were on a relatively deserted street, then ambush the guy. Threats of more violence kept them from telling anyone, or so Sasuke assumed. And there were enough take-out joints in Konoha so that he never hit the same one too often.

Today he took up residence outside a charming little spot called Ichiraku Ramen. Not Sasuke's favorite food, but he had to eat something.

Thing was, the place only had one customer today and he looked to be eating at the bar. Sasuke contemplated going somewhere else…then decided he could at least jack the fuck for his money. Then he'd hit someplace else for food.

Whoever he was, the dude could seriously eat. Sasuke counted thirteen orders of ramen going down his gullet, and who knew how many he'd eaten before Sasuke arrived? He was getting tired of waiting. The jerk probably blew his entire wad on all those bowls; there wouldn't be a ryou left to take from him.

Sasuke was just straightening up from his lounging position across the street when the dude got up, paid, and left the restaurant. He ducked under the partial awning and into the setting rays of the sun. Sasuke squinted, but couldn't make out his features clearly. The last rays of the sun were directly in his eyes.

-oOo-

He followed the guy. He knew he wasn't likely to get any money off of him. No, he followed him so he could take his anger out on him for making him wait all this time for nothing. Least his evening wouldn't be a total loss.

Sasuke stayed a measured few paces behind the guy until he reached a seedy apartment building. No one was around, the Uchiha judged the moment to be right. He ghosted forward, slipping from shadow to shadow, his tattered, run down sandals making no sound.

He shot a practiced move towards the guy's neck, but his hand was grabbed and Sasuke spun in a swirl of pink sky and dingy buildings as he was flipped and thrown bodily to the ground. A foot rested on his throat.

Sasuke saw red.

He brought his forearm crashing down on the knee, but it wasn't there anymore, the foot had been removed and his arm was kicked away hard. Another kick landed in his gut and Sasuke curled around the pain, close to vomiting. He went limp, playing the defeated card.

His mark moved away, took a few steps backward. Sasuke let his body shiver and shake, in case the guy was watching. A glance through his filthy bangs showed that he wasn't. The guy, a blond, was calmly walking up the stairs into the building. Sasuke sat where he was for a moment. He'd never been owned like that. Who was this guy?

The information that this might be where the guy lived intruded on his thoughts. Not only would he pay him back for hurting Sasuke and discarding him as unimportant, he'd rob him blind of whatever he owned. Perfect. Sasuke jumped up and jogged after the guy, no longer interested in being stealthy. All he wanted was to sink his fists into the guy's face, to hurt and hurt and hurt.

-oOo-

Sasuke caught up to him as he was putting a key into a door. He caught a flash of impossibly direct, blue eyes before he crashed into him, leading with his kunai.

A foot tangled in his legs, sending him to the floor, but he was caught before he could hit the surface. The guy roughly shoved Sasuke against the wall, away from him. He stood there, looking at Sasuke without expression.

The hall ended in a slimy window that let in anemic light from the setting sun. As Sasuke was on one side of the narrow hall and the guy on the other, the window was between them. Sasuke got a good look at the guy's face.

First of all, 'guy' was the wrong term. Sasuke guessed the dude was around his age, sixteen. He was as tall as Sasuke, maybe a bit taller. The dude had a way of standing slightly hunched over. He was broad, beefy with muscle, but not to the point of immobility. His hair was a shaggy blond, spiking into the air and falling over his ears and neck. The thick blond brows were angled upward over those intense eyes.

Sasuke decided it was those eyes that kept him from attacking again.

They were more than direct. They seemed…expressive and devoid of life at the same time. Had Sasuke the language to describe them, he would have said that they begged for acceptance while shutting out everyone and everything. They were forceful, curious eyes…yet they gave the unmistakable impression of caring about nothing.

The Uchiha realized that the kid was vaguely familiar. Something…a rumor or something was attached to this kid. Sasuke had no idea what it was and cared less. Other people's problems did not interest him unless he could profit from them in some way.

The guy was clean, but his clothes were worn. There probably wasn't anything worth taking in his apartment, either. Sasuke straightened to his full height and edged sideways. He maintained eye contact. The kid didn't stir, only his eyes tracked Sasuke's movements. Just as he came abreast of him, the kid shot his arm out and placed a wide hand on the wall by Sasuke's head, halting his departure.

Sasuke tensed up, ready for the blow that was surely-

The kid held out Sasuke's kunai to him. Sasuke looked down at it, took it. His knuckles brushed the kid's hand as he took his weapon. The palm by his dark head dropped and the kid stepped back.

_Freak,_ Sasuke thought caustically as he ran out of the building.

* * *

Naruto stood in his hall a moment longer. His insides still squirmed in the aftermath of the encounter. He turned, found his key jutting out of the lock, twisted it and entered his one room domicile.

It was bare, his living quarters. He was rarely sent on missions and always received the lowest pay when he managed to land one. He didn't have money to spend on luxuries like furniture. What money he managed to accumulate went to food. He'd recently been on a mission that, by virtue of its difficult nature and his completion of it single-handedly, had paid him an unprecedented amount of cash. He had splurged on ramen.

He looked around his space, feeling that the empty room echoed his empty soul. He sat cross-legged on his floor and thought about what had just happened.

He'd known the kid was across the street watching him from the moment he'd taken up his obvious surveillance because of the simple fact that people did not watch Naruto. They worked at not seeing him. He'd been intrigued that the kid had followed him; people kept their distance from Naruto.

Then the attack. Naruto had never been attacked by anyone in the village. Everyone knew him, knew what he was, anyway. They'd kill themselves before trying to provoke him. They did not acknowledge his presence in any way, shape or form. He was not abused or taunted or ridiculed. He was just distanced from the villagers, ignored thoroughly and completely. Never had anyone touched him intentionally. Voluntary touching was unheard of. The only one who had touched him at all had been his teacher when he was a Genin. He'd had a private teacher, never having been on a three-man team. His teacher had been Jiraiya.

Naruto had felt strangely present in the moment as he parried the clumsy moves. His mind was usually far away, removed from his lonely existence. Then to be pursued further, to his very door… it had been a moment for him. What could the kid possibly _want_ from him? He'd never seen him before. He'd stood in the hall, staring at the boy, trying to understand why he wasn't repulsed by Naruto.

The boy was filthy. Naruto didn't think the word 'bathe' was in his attacker's vocabulary. His long, dark hair was matted and caked with dirt. His skin was blotchy with more filth and his clothes were rags that hung off of his lean frame. His straight nose sat between two very dark eyes that looked at him directly, unblinkingly, defiantly.

The kid was not afraid of him. This, too, had been a moment for Naruto.

When the dirty boy began trying to leave, as if daring Naruto to stop him, he'd recalled the weapon he'd taken from him and handed it to him. There had been a touch that the boy didn't flinch from. Another moment for Naruto.

Naruto wondered who the kid was. He sat in the dark for several hours, turning over every gesture of the encounter in his mind. When he slept, he dreamed of the kid.

* * *

Sasuke's night went differently. Once outside the building he shook himself as if coming out of a dream. He promptly put the entire episode out of his mind as he spotted a girl, his former team mate, in fact, walking quickly down the street. Sasuke jogged after her.

Sakura had spotted her former team mate exiting the unfamiliar building and sped up, lowering her head, hoping she hadn't been seen. Sasuke terrified her.

"Hey, Cyclops, what's your hurry," Sasuke drawled as he caught up to her. He grabbed her arm and yanked her into a shadowy alley, pressing her to the hard stones of the wall with his body.

Sakura trembled. His reference to her one-eyed state and the patch she wore over her missing eye was particularly cruel. Sasuke had been responsible for the accident that had cost her her eye.

"Yeah…" Sasuke breathed. "Don't run from your former team mate. I might think you don't like me. What you got in these bags here?" He snatched them from her arms and quickly assessed the contents. "Ha, it's my lucky day after all. Look at all this food. I guess I'll be eating well for a week, whew!"

Sakura peeked at Sasuke through her bangs and tried to run away while he was occupied. Sasuke moved to block.

"Where you going, Cyclops? You're not afraid, are you? 'Cuz that would hurt my feelings." Sasuke dropped the bags and moved closer to Sakura. She was barely as tall as his shoulder.

He'd hated her ever since she'd had the nerve to have a crush on him back in their academy days. He'd been fit to be tied at discovering she was on his team. The time leading up to the Chuunin exam had been spent making her life hell. Sai, his other team mate, sometimes tried to protect her but he was no match for Sasuke. Kakashi-sensei couldn't care less what happened. At least he couldn't until one day when the Jounin had told Sasuke to back off or he'd be sorry. Sasuke couldn't take his sensei on at that time…and he'd been too curious to know why the notoriously uncaring, indifferent man had decided to protect Sakura.

Sasuke got his answer one morning as he arrived at the training grounds early. He saw Kakashi thrusting briskly into Sakura's young body, her legs thrown over his shoulders as she whimpered at his size stretching her fragile flesh.

It was clearly understood that Sakura paid for her protection with her body. Sasuke had watched in interest, wondering if he could possibly blackmail his sensei with the knowledge that he was fucking a twelve year-old girl. He decided against it. No one would care and Kakashi was not someone he wanted to cross.

He did taunt Sakura about it, though. It just bugged him that she'd managed to escape his grasp by going to their sensei. The day he'd set a few exploding tags at their preferred meeting place at the training grounds, he'd been intending to kill them both. Kakashi had escaped mostly unharmed. Sakura had come out of it with one less eye.

He'd been only too glad to tell her it was his doing, too. He'd considered raping her himself on that particular day, but decided the act was entirely too disgusting. He beat her bloody instead.

Sasuke hardly ever saw her anymore. She kept her distance. Seeing her now was a nice treat indeed. Fucking with her was always fun.

Sakura opened her mouth to scream as Sasuke closed the distance between them, but his hand covered her mouth, his fingers digging brutally into her skin.

He tore her eye patch off and spent a few minutes exclaiming at her ugliness. His hands squeezed and twisted her breasts only because he knew this area of her body would afford the most pain. He wasn't interested in girls or anyone sexually.

Sasuke tired of her quickly. She was no challenge, the way she cringed and waited for his torment to be over. He shoved her into some stacked garbage bags, bent to retrieve her parcels and walked off into the night.

He munched an apple he found in one of the bags. He was feeling very fine indeed. Clothes, food…he didn't have any other pressing needs. The rest of the night could be devoted to fun. This he did by visiting the local park. Prey was plentiful on that balmy evening and Sasuke was an accomplished predator.

* * *

Naruto woke the next morning and was faced, as usual, with plenty of time on his hands. He got up, washed, dressed and left his apartment. He wandered around the village until he came to the training grounds. Sometimes Konohamaru would visit him there. He waited.

-oOo-

He was in luck. The boy came some time before noon. Naruto noted the sack under his arm and was grateful. Konohamaru often paid for his illicit lessons with Naruto by giving him food. Naruto had told the boy he would teach him for free, but the boy had insisted that no Sarutobi would ever be accused of begging. Naruto was too hungry to continue refusal; frequently the only food he had was what the boy brought him.

"Hi, Naruto! Brought you some rice and pork. There's a fruit cake in there, too."

Naruto merely nodded his thanks while taking the bag in an unhurried manner. Konohamaru was used to his taciturn and humble ways. He wanted to be Naruto's friend but the older boy somehow didn't let things get too comfortable or familiar between them. Naruto was always so remote, never smiling, yet never mean or unkind.

"Can we do Rasengan again, today? I think I'm getting the hang of step two."

"Sure." Naruto's voice was deep. You'd think, for someone that moved so deliberately and had such a calm, stable personality, that the voice would be equally slow. It wasn't. Deep, it was but it had a normal cadence, almost a lilting quality to it.

Naruto took the balloon that Konohamaru came supplied with and blew it up. He held it in his palm moving his chakra within it while simultaneously performing the same action in his other hand without a balloon.

His young protégé watched closely and spent the next couple of hours doing his best to imitate the technique. Naruto let his own chakra dissipate as he looked in the bag and withdrew the dish of rice and barbecue pork.

When Konohamaru lay drained and panting in the grass, Naruto ventured a question.

"Konohamaru, there's someone I'm interested in knowing about. You know everyone in the village, neh?"

Konohamaru sat up excitedly, pleased that his teacher was initiating a conversation. "Yeah, I know everyone! Who're you interested in?"

"There is a boy…around my age, I think." Naruto ran through the description. Half-way through, his little companion's face darkened.

"That's Uchiha Sasuke and he's nothing but a big bullying shark. I hate him. What do you want to know about him for?"

Naruto avoided the question by asking one of his own. "You know him well?"

"Well as anybody who's been on the receiving end of his crap."

"Tell me. Everything."

Naruto listened as he finished eating the fruit cake, licking his fingers neatly. If Konohamaru was to be believed, Sasuke had become the way he was because his own brother, a person he'd idolized, had killed his entire clan. For whatever reason, the village hated Uchihas. Some villagers set about attacking the traumatized survivor of the hated clan whenever they came across him. It wasn't long before the kid started fighting back and attacking people in turn.

"And then Orochimaru made a play for him in the Chuunin exam," the boy continued. "Word is he gave Orochimaru such hell that the old Sannin threw him back to Konoha and said good riddance."

Naruto raised his eyebrows. Orochimaru was a notorious criminal and leader of a thriving child prostitution ring.

Konohamaru was getting into his tale. "Yup and everyone thinks that Sasuke is going to leave the village one day to go kill his brother, but he's not. Nobody can kill Uchiha Itachi, he's the strongest ninja alive."

"Where does he live," Naruto asked.

"Who, Sasuke?" Konohamaru snorted. "Nowhere! What, you think he has a home? The entire Uchiha compound was burned to the ground after the slaughter, with the bodies and everything still in there. That jerk lives on the streets."

"How is that possible? Chuunins make money enough on missions to survive…at least, other Chuunins do," Naruto finished quietly.

"Yeah, well, Sasuke is such a violent person that he doesn't get sent on missions anymore."

Naruto had one last question. "Where can I find him?"

"Holy Jesus, _what for?"_

Naruto did not answer, only looked at Konohamaru. The boy sighed shortly. "He moves around a lot. Sometimes you can find him at the park, though. At night."

Naruto deemed their lesson over at that point. He stood up. Konohamaru whined about practicing a little more, but the big blond merely shook his head and walked away.

The rest of the afternoon was spent on his own training. Naruto did this out in the woods, where the damage he caused wouldn't hurt or alarm anyone.

* * *

Sasuke was in a serious fight. The dude he'd tried to pickpocket turned out to be some retired old Jounin with quite a bit of skill and strength left in him. Sasuke hunched his shoulders, braced against the impact of the fist that slammed into his face again and again, throwing hard punches of his own.

The bear got him in a choke hold, Sasuke twisting and kicking. Finally, he went Sharingan and released lightning chakra from his entire body. The old man staggered away and Sasuke was on him in an instant, landing on his chest, plowing his fists into the grizzled face one after the other until the man was unconscious. Sasuke flopped off of him with a grunt. His knuckles were sore and swollen but he managed to remove the wallet from the guy's back pocket and thumb through the contents. Better than a hundred ryou. Well worth the pain, in Sasuke's estimation.

He stood up with a hiss and a wince. Geezer had done a job on him. Sasuke could scarcely straighten his back and one of his legs was shot. He limped to where his pack had fallen and threw the wallet inside. Blood dripped from his battered face as he considered calling it a night. Yeah, he'd had enough fun for one evening.

His hitching gait took him slowly past the park. Sasuke's black eyes automatically canvassed the enclosed area, searching for prey. He froze.

That blond hair. That hulking stature. It was that guy, that kid from yesterday. Sasuke would remember him, recognize him anywhere. Aside from his unique looks, the fact that Sasuke had been beaten by him would stick with him for years. He hesitated outside the park gate, watching the kid swinging idly.

-oOo-

Naruto had been letting one foot push languidly against he ground as he straddled one of the metal swings. His hands and cheek rested against the cool chain in the late afternoon. He became aware of someone watching him almost as soon as the figure stopped. Naruto turned his eyes towards the park entrance. He froze.

That thin frame, the tightly wound, restrained energy that seemed to bake off the kid. It was him. Uchiha Sasuke. Naruto stood up, unstraddling the swing as he faced the park entrance.

-oOo-

Sasuke saw the dude boldly looking at him. Actually _looking!_ People avoided catching his eye, not wanting to be his latest victim. He could understand the guy looking at him yesterday, I mean shit, he'd just attacked the guy. What the hell was he looking at now? Sasuke decided he wasn't so beat up after all. Maybe the kid needed a repeat of yesterday's action.

For whatever reason, Sasuke conveniently forgot that Naruto had been the one to kick Sasuke's ass instead of the other way around. He marched over to the silent figure intent on starting an altercation.

"Hey," the Uchiha barked, nose to nose with the kid. "What's your problem? What the _fuck_ are you staring at, huh?"

Naruto did not budge, fascinated that the kid, Sasuke, could stand to be this close to him, practically breathing in Naruto's breath. He let his eyes rove over the dirty, bloody features.

Sasuke got spooked by the silent treatment. He frowned to cover this up, but took a step back. The kid _was_ taller. A little. The eyes were brilliant in the sunlight.

Why Sasuke noticed this he didn't know. The kid practically begged to be mauled with his big, dumb self and Sasuke saw no reason not to oblige. He feinted a left hook, then led with his right. Naruto caught the fist without taking his eyes off Sasuke's face. Naruto twisted Sasuke's arm sharply, as if it were an afterthought and Sasuke grit his teeth to keep from crying out. His hand was released slowly.

Sasuke rubbed his abused shoulder joint, scowling at the kid. "What is wrong with you?!"

Naruto blinked at the absurdity of this question. Was he not supposed to defend himself?

"Do you talk, asshole?!"

"When necessary."

Sasuke stopped rubbing his shoulder. A shiver passed through him at hearing the voice at last. The huskiness was unlike any voice he'd ever heard. Melodious and deep.

"Well that's a relief. Freak." Sasuke hawked and spat on the kid's face for the sheer hell of seeing what he would do.

Sasuke landed on the other side of the seesaws, an apparatus that was a good twenty feet from the swing set. He rolled to his hands and knees shaking his head. He'd barely seen the blond's arm swing up. He spent a few seconds ascertaining that his head was still attached to his shoulders before standing up.

He glanced around and found the kid still standing by the swings, still watching him. Sasuke had had it. He rushed him, Sharingan on.

Naruto cocked his head at seeing the lightning attacks. He caught Sasuke's wrists, spun him around, and kneed him in the back, before delivering a blow to the back of Sasuke's neck that had the boy unconscious. This was all done without changing his stance. Naruto stared down at the boy for a few moments before stooping down. He draped Sasuke over his shoulder and left the park.

* * *

Sasuke woke up in a place he knew he'd never seen before. The walls and floor were bare. He sat up, ignoring the various aches and pains in his body, to glance around anxiously.

That kid. He sat on the balls of his feet, his elbows on his knees, his big hands dangling between his legs as he watched Sasuke from a few feet away. He was clearly visible in the bright light of the one bulb that hung from the ceiling.

Sasuke got to his feet slowly, taking in his surroundings while trying to keep the motionless kid in sight. Sasuke did not like strange surroundings or enclosed places. Bad things tended to happen in both.

He stood, favoring his left leg and looked for his pack. He spotted it near the door and moved in that direction.

His leg gave out, having stiffened while he was unconscious. He went down hard, catching himself on his hands. He rolled onto his side holding his hamstring and grimacing as the pain escalated. The blond freak watched him. Finally, when he could take it no more, Sasuke bit out a plea.

"Help me!"

The kid seemed surprised. His eyes widened a bit, but he did straighten from his crouch enough to duck waddle to where Sasuke lay hitting the floor with his fist, squeezing his eyes against the tears that sprang up.

Sasuke felt a large hand tentatively touch his leg where he was grasping and close over the rock hard muscle. The hand squeezed experimentally, massaging and probing until the muscle loosened and Sasuke gasped in relief.

The kid started to remove his hand but Sasuke held it in place with his own, silently urging him to continue. Sasuke's face was turned into the floor, unwilling to face those eyes just now. To his knowledge, Sasuke had never requested or accepted help in anything. It disgusted him that he did so now, so he kept his face hidden, somehow able to convince himself that he wasn't asking a boy he'd attacked twice for assistance.

Naruto's skin felt tight with this prolonged contact. Sasuke not only asked for his touch, his help, but kept his hand over Naruto's guiding his fingers on the injured muscle. Naruto's body was tense. He was not used to any of this and it was highly uncomfortable.

"Okay," Sasuke groaned. "I think it's okay now." He rolled onto his back and sat up, stretching his leg gingerly. His expression cleared when only mild soreness was felt.

Sasuke had been doing some thinking while on the floor. He cleared his throat and addressed his grubby feet as he spoke.

"So. Yeah. I attacked you and shit, but I figure you don't seem mad so maybe we can put that behind us."

Sasuke got silence in response. He continued.

"You're pretty strong. You got a posse?"

"I'm sorry?"

There was that voice again. Sasuke's anus tightened disturbingly at hearing it. "A posse, a crew, homies. _Friends,_ you dolt."

"No. I don't."

"Huh. Go figure. Well, neither do I. I propose a partnership. You down?"

"Are you suggesting a friendship?"

"No. Why the hell would I suggest something so gross? A partnership, dude, wherein we both profit."

Naruto, whose hand still tingled from touching the boy, thought about this. Of course the entire situation was without precedent. Someone wanted to associate with him? He found himself agreeing. He had a question, though.

"Why aren't you afraid of me?" The blue eyes were quizzical.

Sasuke snorted. "Why would I be? Because you wiped the ground with me? Please, that's not the first time that's happened to me and it probably won't be the last."

That wasn't the reason at all. Naruto was astounded to meet someone who didn't know about him. He wouldn't have refused the offer if his life depended on it.

"I accept your partnership."

"Yeah? Great. I'm going to have fun showing you the ropes, just wait. You'll enjoy throwing all that muscle around. What's your name?"

"Naruto."

"No, seriously."

"That is my name." Naruto held Sasuke's disbelieving stare.

Sasuke stood up and got to his pack at last. He slung it onto his back. "Tomorrow begins lesson one: identifying a decent mark."

Naruto stood as well. "Where are you going?"

"I'm leaving, what."

"You have no home."

"So?"

"You may stay here…if you wish."

"Here?" Sasuke looked around in derision. "Dude, the street is better than this place. It's a fucking _box_."

Naruto said nothing. Sasuke did not understand how the kid could go for so long without blinking, moving, or speaking. The blue eyes held Sasuke's as his hand wavered on the doorknob.

When was the last time he'd spent the night indoors? When was the last time he'd actually _slept_ completely, deeply, without fear that he would be attacked or killed in his sleep? Sasuke's hand dropped to his side and he stood, accepting the invitation by virtue of the fact that he was still standing in the place.

Naruto nodded once, slowly, as he came toward Sasuke and held out a hand.

"Partners."

"Partners," Sasuke echoed. They shook on it.


	2. Chapter 2

Sasuke dropped his pack and took a good look around the place while Naruto stood by the door and watched. Nothing. There was nothing in the joint. The kitchenette was spotless. The fridge was clean, white and empty. The small bathroom was sterile, unblemished by so much as a speck of dirt.

He whirled back to his new partner and studied him from across the room. Sasuke was a decent judge of character, so it bothered him that he couldn't quite figure this guy out. Motives. That was the key to any successful interaction with a person. Knowing their motives and what made them tick. Their mindset.

Usually big silent types like Blondie, there, were shy. Most of the time they shunned violence. Not this, guy. He defended himself readily enough, so he was okay with violence. He stared at Sasuke until the Uchiha wanted to scream, so he wasn't all that shy, either. What was his deal? Why'd he live like this? Sasuke knew why he didn't have any friends, but why didn't Blondie? If he was going to manipulate the freak to get the most advantage out of him he needed to know these things.

"Yo, Blondie," Sasuke began. "Why don't you gimme your deets, so I can know who I'm dealing with."

"Sorry?"

"Your life history. Got one, or did you just hatch from a rock?"

Naruto walked toward Sasuke slowly, considering his answer. Sasuke was hard pressed not to back up. The kid was very unnerving with that unblinking stare. "My life history," Naruto said in those melodious tones, "is my business. You are dirty." Naruto held up his hand and showed Sasuke.

Sasuke was digesting the words and the fact that this kid had no concept of personal space. He got right up close to Sasuke who didn't immediately look at the hand that was held up for his inspection.

Why hadn't he noticed Blondie's mouth before? It was full, very full, but very chiseled, molded. The deep pink lips were very shapely, the fine blond hairs on the top one a flaxen contrast to the tanned skin. The teeth were white, large. He'd glimpsed the pink tongue at the word 'life' and … _what the Jesus fuck was he doing thinking about some guy's mouth?_

Sasuke had to swallow. This close, the smell of Blondie was evident, something he hadn't noticed before. It was a woodsy, earthy scent that put him in mind of pine trees and wild animals. He lowered his eyes to the palm held up for his perusal. He didn't see anything.

"What am I supposed to be looking at?" Sasuke asked. Meeting those eyes at this proximity was too much. He shoved past Blondie and put some space between them.

"The dirt that came away on my hand when we shook. You need to bathe."

"Uhh…the fuck I will? I'm fine the way I am. You don't like it, tough."

"I don't like it, so you may return to wherever you usually sleep. You are too filthy to remain here." Sasuke's head snapped around to stare at Blondie as he went to the door and held it open.

"What!" Sasuke spluttered. "You're kicking me out for something like _that?_ "

Naruto did not answer, only held his door open calmly. Sasuke had already accustomed himself to the idea that he'd be sleeping indoors from now on and he just couldn't let it go. He couldn't. Yet neither could he let this kid think he could boss him. He hadn't thought the kid was the authoritative type at all. He'd had him pegged as not shy, not weak, but passive. Now he could add one more detail to his mental profile of the kid: _forceful._ _Aggressive, but quietly so._

Sasuke was a glib individual when he needed to be. "But…I thought we were partners. You're turning your back on me already just because I'm not as clean as you are? How is that right?" Sasuke made his voice small and forlorn, really working the guilt trip angle. Someone as vanilla as this guy seemed to be would surely succumb to guilt in no time.

"If you won't maintain a certain level of cleanliness, yes. I'm hoping you will agree to bathe, though, so that our partnership doesn't have to end. I wouldn't like that to happen."

Sasuke had dropped his little boy lost look at the first sentence. Did the kid have no buttons Sasuke could push? Ah, wait, he'd just handed him one.

"Yeah? Well if you don't want it to end, then don't try to force me to…hey…what…?"

Naruto had left the door, come over to Sasuke and taken him by the arm. He forcibly marched him back toward the door and pushed him gently into the hall. It took Sasuke a second to realize that he was being put out. The door started to close.

"Wait!" Sasuke bleated. The door halted with a few inches of Blondie visible. One blue eye looked at him. _Damn! Just fucking dammit!_ "Alright. You happy? Shit."

-oOo-

Naruto swung the door wide, allowing Sasuke to stomp sullenly inside again. He beckoned to the filthy boy and led him to the bathroom where he proceeded to run a bath of hot water. Sasuke watched in disbelief as Blondie got a worn, but perfectly serviceable wash rag and a bar of soap and plunked them down on the side of the large claw foot tub. When the tub was full of what looked to be scalding water, Blondie shut off the faucet and stood back expectantly.

Sasuke licked his lips nervously. "Yeah, uh…I'm not getting in that. Just…no."

Naruto cocked his head. "Why? How do you normally clean yourself?"

Sasuke was not a person who engaged in thoughts about himself. Ever. He took the time now, though, to dig through his mind. As far as he could discern, unless he happened to be caught in the rain, he did not 'bathe'. Even the word was obscene. "I…don't." Sasuke offered.

Naruto looked at him for a moment. Well that certainly explained the smell coming off of him. Naruto glanced at the squalid head, at the lice crawling there. Even as he watched one fell off his scalp and into the half dried blood on Sasuke's face, sticking there. Naruto could just see the tiny legs kicking frantically.

"So you have never bathed. I do not see what hinders you now. Unless you truly wish to leave?"

Sasuke decided there would never be any camaraderie or like between them. This was too much. "Yeah. I'm outta here, fuck this shit."

Naruto was not willing to let the first person agreeable to his presence slip out of his hands, though. He grabbed Sasuke's arm as he turned to go and dragged him back into the bathroom. Sasuke cursed volubly.

"What the _hell-"_

"Perhaps you are willing to turn your back on this partnership, but I am not." So saying he stripped Sasuke deftly of his clothes, such as they were, and dropped them in a heap. Sasuke yelped indignantly, unable to break away from the steely grip of the guy.

They both froze as Sasuke covered his genitals with both hands. Sasuke because he'd never been nude in front of anyone, Naruto because he didn't immediately know what the problem was. When it came to him, he asked in his placid voice, "Are you ashamed to be nude?"

"Wh-wh-what the hell kind of question is that?! Do _you_ walk around naked in front of people?"

"People tend to avoid me. And as you can see, I live alone, but I don't think it would be a problem to be nude in front of others. It is a natural thing, no?"

Sasuke could not believe his ears. If the fucker hadn't ripped his clothes while stripping him, he'd snatch the things, throw them on and get out of there. "Yeah it's a problem, because I ain't queer! You try standing there in your skin, asshole!"

Naruto shrugged and removed his clothes. Sasuke's jaw dropped.

The Uchiha was not in the habit of appreciating beauty in anything other than inanimate objects, preferably money. He didn't exactly think of beauty now when he saw the vast expanse of tanned skin. He couldn't actually think at all.

It was the muscles, he decided. The way the muscles bulged and rippled. Very fine blond hair coated the chest, ran in a thin line down to-

Holy.

Shit.

Sasuke spent some seconds taking in the bull cock that dangled between the heavy thighs. The length was not that much more than average, maybe eight inches. It was the girth of the thing.

Sasuke shut his eyes, deeply offended, and inhaled. When he opened his eyes again it was to find a pair of blue ones inches from his face. Naruto lifted a hand coated with…what looked like orange chakra and placed it on Sasuke's head.

"Hey, what-" There was a strong zapping sound accompanied by a brief burning buzz on his scalp. "What the _fuck?!"_ Sasuke jerked his head away.

"You had vermin on you. Get in the tub."

"I told you, I'm not-"

Sasuke threw a punch as Naruto lifted him bodily and dropped him in the tub. Water splashed over the rim. Sasuke's body stiffened in preparation of hopping right back out again, but Naruto held him down with an arm in the hot water.

-oOo-

Without question, it was the worst experience in Sasuke's memory. Nothing else even came _close._

It started with his hair. Copious amounts of shampoo were dumped on his head, his scalp scrubbed vigorously with hard nails, strong fingers. Rinse, lather, repeat. The bathwater turned black, dotted with lice carcasses, from his hair alone. Naruto drained the tub and turned on the shower, stepping into the tub so that he could soap Sasuke's body vigorously.

Sasuke was insulted to the very marrow of his bones. Worse, his dick came to life the second Blondie touched it with his hateful cloth. Naruto paused at seeing this, but resumed washing Sasuke's body thoroughly. Sasuke kept is eyes shut, his mouth pursed around the poisonous words that wanted to come out. He'd already cursed Naruto into oblivion and it had had no effect on the steady strokes, the unbreakable grip the blond kept on him. He winced whenever the hard hands rubbed on a bruised area.

Finally the shower was shut off. Sasuke, refusing to move or help in any way, was picked up and sat on the toilet seat as Naruto got a scissors from a cabinet under the sink. Sasuke eyed these dully, beyond caring what happened next. His skin fairly tingled, he felt like he was less than he normally was, as if something was missing from him. He felt exposed.

Naruto had managed to clean the hair until it shone with ebony brilliance, but he couldn't untangle the dreads that hung to the white shoulders. He picked these up in two fingers and went to work with the scissors, snipping delicately while Sasuke shivered on the toilet seat.

Once that was done, he had Sasuke stand while he took a razor to his pubic area. Sasuke's jaw was sore from gritting his teeth. The _indignity_ was not to be borne…but bear it he did. He didn't want to be on the street again. And the kid was much too strong to escape from.

A nick had him jumping convulsively. He glanced down and found a bead of blood welling on his sac.

"Sorry," Naruto murmured. He wiped the blood away with the rough pad of one big thumb.

Sasuke shivered. He stood rigidly, looking down at the blond head that was bent to his private areas. Shame reddened his face as his dick slowly stood up. Sasuke was near tears by now.

Naruto's hands shook. They'd been shaking from the moment he'd stripped Sasuke, causing him to be rough while cleaning the filthy boy. He didn't know what was wrong with him except…touching the boy was just so intimate, so personal. Naruto was just not used to having this kind of contact with people. It set his whole body to trembling. He'd been curious at the boy's organ rising periodically. Now it was doing it again, right in his face. It was more slender than his own. He looked up at Sasuke, who was staring down at him with a fierce frown.

Sasuke's breath snagged at those direct blue eyes skewering him. Time stopped briefly as they looked in each other's eyes, Sasuke's erection between them.

Naruto lowered his eyes again. The organ pulsed not six inches from his face. He reached out a hand to touch it-

-and Sasuke's fist crashed into his head with devastating force. Naruto sat down hard on his ass as Sasuke stepped over him, his balls swinging briefly over Naruto's head as he reached for the towel that hung on the back of the bathroom door.

Sasuke wrapped the towel around his waist angrily as he turned to regard the freak.

"Right. Let's get something straight. I ain't no fucking fag. You do anything like that again, and I mean _anything,_ I will fucking kill you so dead –"

"No," Naruto said as he hastily stood up. "I'm sorry, I …I don't know why I did that. It won't happen again. I didn't mean to offend you, really, I just…I'm sorry. Please."

Sasuke stopped his furious tirade. Blondie looked genuinely contrite. Well, maybe he was really sorry. Still, he had to know.

"Are you gay?"

"Pardon?"

"Gay, asshole. Because if you are-"

"I'm sorry, I don't-"

" _Men._ Jesus. Do you go around fucking men?"

Naruto had never had such a question posed to him. He didn't immediately understand. His blank face showed this.

Sasuke, though, took it as a no. His shoulders relaxed. "Good." He caught sight of himself in the mirror over the sink and stepped closer, examining his reflection. Was that what he looked like?

His face was very white. His hair was shorter in the back, layered, while the front was a little long. The hair to either side of his cheeks came to his chin. There were faded bruises on his face, on the upper half of his body that he could see.

Sasuke was oddly pleased with his looks. There was a slight elfin quality to them. His chin and ears were a tad on the pointy side and his eyes tilted up a little at the corners. He turned his head this way and that, gave himself a cocky grin and a wink, then turned to go get his pack. He fished the clothes he'd taken from the boy yesterday out of the bag and put them on. The shirt hung on him. The pants bagged around his thin legs, but they had a drawstring waist so he tied them extra tight.

Naruto came hesitantly into the room. He hadn't meant to upset Sasuke, he hadn't. The blond sincerely hoped the boy wouldn't leave. He would never make the mistake of touching him in that manner again. What was gay? He didn't want to ask for fear of reminding Sasuke, who seemed to have forgotten, of his faux pas. He would ask Konohamaru.

-oOo-

"Okay," Sasuke said as he sat on the floor. "Time to go over our partnership."

Naruto came and sat across from Sasuke. "Yes. I've been wondering how, exactly, you mean for us to profit from this arrangement. We should go over the terms of the partnership to avoid any confusion."

"Exactly. I figure you let me stay here, and I'll show you everything I know about fleecing people. You can't be making much money, not with the high lifestyle I see going on here," Sasuke snickered. His eyes flicked around the empty room. "I supply the brains, you supply the muscle and we both come away with something. A win-win sitch, if you catch my meaning."

"I don't. What is it that you do?"

"What do you mean what do I do? I feed on the more fortunate members of society. I figure they owe me, seeing as they…they…well, they just owe me, okay?" Sasuke's mouth worked a bit before he continued. "Now, you-"

"What did they do?" Naruto interjected.

"Huh?"

"Society. What did they do?"

Sasuke looked at him. It was many minutes before Naruto realized that Sasuke wasn't going to answer. He let the matter drop. For now.

"As I was saying," Sasuke resumed. "You are one damned good fighter. With your skills we can be hitting the big bucks, living high off the hog, so to speak. I'm talking about leaving the dregs that I usually go after and hitting the nobles."

"When you say fleece…do you mean steal?"

"Hells, yeah. What else?"

"Is that what you were doing when you attacked me? Trying to steal from me?"

"Sure was." Sasuke was shamelessly honest.

"I don't steal."

"Well, I suggest you learn, dummy, because that's the deal."

"I let you live here so that you can teach me how to steal? This is the partnership?"

"Well, we'll also be splitting the pickings fifty-fifty…that's more than fair, don't you think? I mean, are you doing any better? Come to think of it, why aren't you doing better? A strong ass motherfucker like yourself should be raking in the missions hand over fist. What's up with that?"

"I don't get many missions," Naruto said as he stood up. He turned and paced the length of the one room. Sasuke hadn't seen when he'd donned the blue bathrobe.

"Why not?"

Naruto, too, seemed to have secrets. He didn't answer Sasuke. Instead, he came to a stop in front of the sitting boy. His face was serious as he looked down at him. "Stealing is wrong. I won't become a thief."

"Don't knock it before you try it," Sasuke said as he stood up too. "You're probably starving just as hard as I am. Why not live my way for awhile? If you really can't get with it, we can try your way. Do you have a way?"

"Not a way, precisely, but we don't have to steal. Perhaps we could find work outside the village."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes in speculation. It was an idea. An idea he'd never really entertained. Naruto interrupted his thoughts.

"Is this what you really plan to do with the rest of your life, though? Steal and be violent to people?"

"Fuck yeah. You got a better plan for your life?"

"No…but I don't see a need to hurt people for no reason."

"It's _not_ for no reason, okay? They deserve it!"

"Why?"

"Because…they just do."

Sasuke wouldn't say anymore. Naruto let the matter rest.

-oOo-

Sasuke had been wondering where the guy slept. His question was answered when Blondie went to a closet and withdrew several thick blankets and a sheet. He caught a glimpse of shirts and pants hung neatly before the door was kicked shut.

Naruto spread the blankets on the floor, making a pallet. He went in the bathroom, where Sasuke heard a brushing sound, then came out again. He was naked.

Sasuke watched warily as Blondie calmly lay his body down on the blankets and covered himself with the sheet.

"And…where am I supposed to sleep?" Sasuke asked.

"Where ever you wish. There is plenty of space," Naruto gestured at the empty floor.

"Do you have other blankets?"

"No."

"Well, it's kind of cold."

Naruto turned to look at him. "You are clothed. What's the problem?"

"The problem is that you should be offering me one of those blankets."

Naruto looked down at his makeshift bed. Social graces were a foreign concept to him. Hospitality was not in his vocabulary. He just didn't know how to be around people. He certainly wasn't in the habit of depriving himself so that another might have. He did not feel like taking apart his bed.

He lifted the sheet. "You can lie on the blanket."

Sasuke's lids lowered to half-mast as his mouth twisted. "I see. Lie on the blanket. With you in it. Naked. Hmm," Sasuke cocked his head toward the ceiling and rubbed his chin. "What's wrong with this picture? It's so fucking cliché, it ain't funny. I thought you said you weren't gay."

"I said nothing of the kind, since I don't know what gay means. Sleep on the blanket or not. As you like." Naruto dropped the corner of the sheet he was holding and turned his back on Sasuke.

Sasuke was some minutes digesting the information he'd received. Not know what gay means? If that was true, and here Sasuke snorted to himself at the idea of _anyone_ being so clueless, then that would mean he had no idea what sex was. Which was fine. It meant Sasuke wasn't about to be pawed. He turned off the light before he moved forward.

-oOo-

Sasuke got a good look at the muscular ass in the moonlight, the way it seemed to be hollow on the sides, as he slipped, fully clothed, between the sheet and blankets. He turned his back as he settled his head on his arm. He was still cold.

Sasuke tended to sleep behind some generators that sat at the north end of the village. They gave off a ton of heat for his perpetually cold body and he was able to sleep comfortably. This…this was little better than freezing. Sasuke listened to his companion.

The breathing was slow and deep. There was no snoring, but Sasuke figured the guy was asleep. He scooted backward cautiously, inching nearer to the stupendous heat the big body gave off. Better. Not great, but better. Maybe he could get a little closer?

* * *

Naruto was not sleeping. He usually suffered from insomnia, taking hours upon hours to fall asleep, often only managing it near dawn. He listened to the scuffling motions, feeling Sasuke creep nearer to him. He didn't know what the boy was doing, but it didn't bother Naruto. He was busy thinking about what Sasuke had said.

Steal from nobles. That would be the Hyuuga, Inuzuka, Aburame, Akimichi and Nara families. They each lived in an enclosed compound within Konoha. Some said that instead of the Hokage, Danzo, running the village, it was really the nobles who did so. They had a reputation for high-handed, unfair, capitalist snobbery. They went around as if they owned the village and many said that they did. It was an interesting concept, the idea of stealing from them. Naruto found the idea appealed to him.

Naruto felt Sasuke's back touch his. Then it pressed to him and he heard the boy groan in a satisfied way. Naruto did not particularly care for the contact, but did not protest. Perhaps, as with the blanket, he was supposed to allow it. He heard snoring a few minutes later. Naruto continued his thoughts.

Certainly the nobles had things the rest of the village didn't. They had superior fighting skills, advanced training, money, food, clothing…they had everything that the rest of the village lacked. Some said things were different when the Third Hokage was alive, but Naruto's life had always been as it was now, so he couldn't be sure. He only knew that the village was a darker, dirtier, more dangerous place once Danzo had stepped into power.

It was said the nobles had begun as his advisors and then taken over completely. Undoubtedly, the nobles' children received the very best missions. That alone rankled with Naruto. Wrong stealing might be, but it was also wrong for the nobles to let so many other people starve so that they might be fed. He would go along with Sasuke's plan.

Sometime later, that individual turned over and wrapped an arm around Naruto. The blond man could feel Sasuke's face burrowing into his back, murmuring. A leg was thrown over Naruto's waist and something very remarkable happened. His own organ stirred and grew hard. That never happened to Naruto. Not unless he had to urinate in the morning.

Naruto spent several minutes examining the rising heat in his body, the way it spread from his organ to his stomach, his chest, up his back and his face. Down his legs to the soles of his feet. He was not aware of his eyes changing or the way a low growl, that sounded like nothing human, purred in his throat. His tongue, impossibly long now, came out and licked his fangs.

* * *

_Sasuke was in heaven. Such wonderful, glorious heat. He was enveloped in it. He dreamed he was sleeping in a big fluffy cloud that floated directly beneath the sun, positively baking in the gorgeous heat. He was rolled onto his back as the heat descended on him, heavy, hot and welcome. The heat seemed to come to life, to grow appendages as it explored his body with burning hands that did not feel remotely cloud-like. Sasuke, eyes closed, stretched his body at the delicious sensation. Something wet and searing hot dragged across his face, his neck, down his body. It lapped his dick, his balls…Sasuke groaned as the heat seemed to emanate from his own body now…_

* * *

 The next morning, he woke up and found himself alone in the blankets. He could hear Blondie in the bathroom, apparently washing by the way water splashed. He yawned and sat up. A scratch on his thigh caught his attention. It was long, looked fresh. He couldn't remember in what fight he'd received it. That really wasn't the point, though. Sasuke distinctly remembered going to bed fully clothed. How was he naked? He shrugged and got up, assuming he'd taken his own clothes off in the night. After all, ole Blondie there was a virgin. He'd hardly be likely to take off Sasuke's clothes. Besides, Sasuke would remember such a thing. He found the clothes balled up next to his side of the blankets. He was just pulling on the pants when Naruto exited the bathroom.

Naruto looked at Sasuke and frowned. Something teased at his memory. It was a few seconds before he remembered it. When he did, he froze, wondering how he could have forgotten for even a moment.

He didn't know what had come over him. The touch of Sasuke's hands on his body had ignited in him a violent need to touch him in turn. Before he'd known it, he'd had Sasuke naked, was sniffing and touching and tasting every inch of him. Sasuke had made wordless sounds of acceptance, encouraging him, spreading his legs. Naruto turned his head away now at the memory of how much time he'd spent sucking the organ between Sasuke's slim, but firm thighs. He'd spent hours with the thing resting in his mouth letting his tongue play over and around it. _Why had he done that?_ His face burned in consternation. Such depravity would certainly end their partnership. Sasuke had not awoken, though. Perhaps he didn't remember?

It seemed this was the case since the night's activities were not brought up. They dressed and left the apartment without a word being said between them. Naruto was heartily relieved.

-oOo-

Once outside in the bright sunlight, Sasuke began to wake up fully. He really wasn't much of a morning person. He and Naruto walked around the village as Sasuke went over each noble family and his proposed method of getting to them; a couple of nobodies like themselves wouldn't be allowed through their front gates.

"I think we should hit the Akimichis first. They're the weakest, though still strong as fuck."

Naruto stepped along, listening intently. He was eager to take his mind off of last night.

Sasuke had scooped up a handful of rocks as he spoke. He took aim at passing people and threw the rocks at their faces with great accuracy. The people would start to protest, get a look at the person who'd thrown the rock, or more importantly, the person next to the one who'd thrown the rock, and mutter to themselves before moving quickly to leave the two boys behind. Sasuke made careful note of this behavior.

"For sure we'll have to wait and catch one of the nobles outside their compound, no matter who we hit," Sasuke lectured. "I can't see a way to get inside without getting killed and it's kind of fun thinking about ambushing their asses when they don't have their whole family to back them up, you know?"

Naruto continued listening, used to the way people swerved to avoid crossing his path. Sasuke saw this reaction in people, saw the non-reaction in Blondie and added another layer to his mental profile of the guy: _People were afraid of the dude. And he was used to it._

"The Akimichis now," Sasuke continued. "They own quite a few restaurants. Sometimes Choza himself makes the rounds, checking on each one. More often it's the son, Chouji, doing the checking. This usually happens on Tuesday's and Thursdays. Lucky us, it's Thursday today."

"What do you plan?" Naruto asked at last.

"Well, I _was_ going to just jump him with you helping me. You know, beat the living shit out of him, take his clothes, his money and any food he had and dip. Now I'm not so sure."

"Why is that?"

"Because of you, my friend. I'm thinking there's a lot you're not telling me. Like why it is that everyone seems scared shitless of you. Matter of fact, you asked me last night why I wasn't afraid of you. The two things are tied together, aren't they? Spill."

"I told you. My business is my own. Or are you willing to speak of what was done to you?"

Sasuke clenched his hand around the remaining rocks. "Point taken."

"Your plan?" Naruto prompted.

"Blackmail, plain and simple. We threaten whatever noble we're currently hitting with you. We could probably take them for a whole lot more than whatever they have in their pockets."

"I see. And what do you expect me to do?"

"Whatever it is that makes people so scared."

"That…would not be wise." Naruto sidestepped two little girls who ran into their path. Sasuke punched one in the head, knocking her senseless to the ground. The other he kicked in the stomach, causing her to shriek breathlessly. Naruto watched as Sasuke chuckled.

"Do you always do things like that," Naruto asked.

"Every chance I get," the Uchiha retorted. "Okay, look. We're just coming up to one of the Akimichi restaurants now. Act casual."

Sasuke had gestured with his chin to a cheerful red building before turning his back and apparently watching some boys engage in a game of soccer in the street. Naruto merely stood where he was, looking between Sasuke and the restaurant.

Some time later a portly boy exited the restaurant and climbed into a waiting _kago_. It moved away briskly, carried by four strapping, shirtless ninja. Sasuke turned from watching the boys and followed.

Naruto, feeling his body tense up at the thought of the approaching encounter, strode after him.


	3. Chapter 3

Akimichi Chouji was stuffed to the gills. The managers of their restaurants always plied him with their best dishes, eager to please and curry favor. He'd visited five establishments today, which meant five colossal meals, each consisting of several courses. His sizeable stomach was stretched drum tight. He folded his pudgy hands over it and decided he would sleep for the rest of the day. The rocking motion of the _kago_ helped him along.

-oOo-

Chouji was woken hardly half an hour later by a crash. He tipped sideways as his conveyance was dropped. He heard shouting, sounds of fighting. He remained inside his overturned _kago,_ waiting for his guards to say it was safe. He heard a cocky voice shout gleefully:

"Get the fatso, Blondie!"

Chouji screamed, his fat hands covering his equally fat face as his _Kago_ was torn apart, literally: a hole was punched through the roof of the thing. Fingers appeared in this hole and wrenched, widening it, splitting the lacquered wood easily.

"Shit and fire, Blondie! Is it _like_ _that?!_ Fuck, at this rate the Hyuugas'll post no problem for us, even though they're the strongest. What are you waiting for? Snatch his ass out so I can talk to him!"

Chouji was near to vomiting in his fear as the same hands reached in, attached to muscular arms, and hauled him out of the remains of his meager protection. He flew through the air as if he weighed nothing. Chouji landed on his ample ass, his kimono opening to expose his fat legs. A glance showed his burly guards defeated and strewn about the deserted stretch of road. He looked up at his attackers fearfully.

Akimichi Chouji knew he was a dead man. It was him, that monster kid. Mercy!

* * *

 

Sasuke strolled forward, beside himself. He'd hardly had to lift a finger. Blondie, man. Blondie was fucking gold. He bent down to lean into Chouji's face.

"Yeah, you recognize him, don't you," Sasuke said in sympathetic tones. He glanced over his shoulder to where Chouji was staring. The small eyes were fixated on his large friend, who stood calmly to one side. Sasuke continued his little speech.

"I can hardly control him, you know. He'd have killed you, if I hadn't stopped him. He still might…if."

Chouji's eyes met his at last. "I-i-if?"

Sasuke smiled reassuringly. Chouji took heart…until the dark eyes hardened. "If you don't start paying for some protection from my friend there."

"What do you mean," Chouji spluttered.

"Well, let's see," Sasuke spoke thoughtfully, resting a hand on Chouji's fleshy shoulder. "I know your routes for the rounds you make on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I know all your restaurants. And I know sometimes your pops makes the rounds instead of you. Blondie there, he's a right animal, you saw. I wouldn't want anything to happen to your pops or, God forbid, you during one of those rounds."

Chouji's eyes widened, his mouth slackening as the meaning sank in. "What do you want?"

"Oh, well since you asked and the idea is coming from you…pay me a weekly sum and I'll see to it that you and your dad are safe from my friend."

Chouji's senses were clearing. "You said you can hardly control him."

"Did I? What I meant was I hardly ever feel like controlling him. His destruction is just so pretty to watch, you know? See for yourself." Sasuke gestured to Naruto.

Naruto did nothing.

Sasuke turned toward him and gave him a fierce look with mouthed words, gesturing frantically toward the ruined _kago._ Naruto, unsure, turned and kicked the remains of the boxy structure. It flew high into the air, soaring over a few rooftops as it disintegrated from the impact of Naruto's foot. Sasuke grinned, giving Blondie the thumbs up sign. Naruto copied it, his face blank.

Sasuke rearranged his features into a worried look as he turned back to Chouji. His black eyes were large and concerned, conveying regret to his victim. Chouji caved.

"How much?"

"Five hundred. A week."

" _Wha-"_

"Yeah, you're right, that's ridiculous. Make it a thousand." Sasuke's eyes were hard again. He beckoned to Naruto and he heard the heavy footfalls approach. Chouji backed up on his ass.

"N-no, five hundred is fine."

"Too late. A grand, take it or get hurt," Sasuke said. Naruto took another step closer.

"Alright!" Chouji squealed.

Sasuke smirked. "Well, good. I'll be expecting payment every Sunday morning, bright and early. You can make the first payment now, though."

"But-"

"Blondie?"

"Okay! Please," Chouji fished into his robes and withdrew a wallet stuffed with cash. He began counting out money, but Sasuke reached down and took the wallet and its entire contents. He clapped his hands briskly.

"Yosh! It's been a real pleasure doing business with you. Make sure your guards keep their mouths shut, think up a good excuse to tell daddy about the _kago_ and may you find joy and happiness."

Sasuke did a mocking little bow and walked briskly away, tucking the wallet under his arm. Naruto stood where he was for a few seconds, looking down at Chouji. Chouji pressed his legs together, trying to hold his liquid as the blue eyes bore into him.

"Blondie!"

Naruto turned and walked after Sasuke.

* * *

Sasuke was jazzed off the hit, leaping crazily along rooftops until he reached Blondie's house. He waited impatiently in front of the door for his partner in crime to make his way up the stairs. Naruto came stolidly to his door and unlocked it. Sasuke dashed inside, Naruto moving more slowly.

"Wooooo! Oh, my God! Can you believe it, Blondie? That went a hundred…no, a thousand…no, a _million_ times better than I thought it would! Sheeeeeeee-it! _Jesus._ Okay. Man, I gotta calm down before I give myself a stroke. Just a minute."

Naruto watched as Sasuke paced up and down, fanning himself with a hand, the other hand on his hip. Sasuke would periodically giggle or burst out laughing, then have to work to get himself under control again. Finally he stopped in the middle of the floor and looked directly at Naruto.

"Naruto? I love you. I fucking _love_ you."

Naruto's heart lurched, stopped, bounded painfully against his chest. It wasn't lost on him that Sasuke had just said his name for the first time. And those words…his eyes bulged. His body shuddered. _No…he doesn't mean it._

But Sasuke came over to him, grabbed his face in both hands and planted a kiss on each cheek. Naruto stopped breathing, his eyes looking down into the beautiful black ones so close to his own. A second passed, two, three, five…

Sasuke spun away and yelled to the ceiling, swinging the wallet around as he twirled.

" _Yes_ , I love you! Do you have any idea how much money you just made us, Blondie? Where have you been all my life, huh?" Sasuke's happiness knew no bounds. He sat on the floor and began counting the money.

Naruto did not budge except to touch his cheek. His heart was stuttering, his body in flames. Sasuke had _kissed_ him. Touched him and kissed him. Sasuke had said…

He'd said…

Naruto could not repeat the words, even to himself. But his starved heart grasped them, incorporated them, fed them and the words spread through Naruto until his entire body, every muscle, was tensed and ready to spring. He felt things he'd never felt before, never thought he _could_ feel. He'd never thought anyone would ever say those words to him.

Naruto fell in love with Sasuke then.

-oOo-

Sasuke, oblivious to the damage he'd done with his careless words and actions, looked up at Naruto with shining eyes. "Thirty-five hundred ryou right here in his wallet? I ask you, who in their right mind goes around with that much cash? Stupid!"

He watched as Naruto came slowly towards him. The big man sat down next to him, staring at him, his eyes wandering over Sasuke's face. Sasuke smiled brightly, holding out the money for Blondie to touch and hold, being generous.

Naruto looked down at the wad of cash. He took hold of Sasuke's hand instead, watching Sasuke's face. Sasuke only looked from Naruto's hand and back to his face a few times, a slight frown accompanying his smile. Naruto saw that Sasuke did not pull away. He saw the smile on the elfin face and tried a smile of his own.

Sasuke had never seen his friend smile. It was a sight to behold. The full mouth curved at the corners until the lips parted, showing the brilliant teeth. The blue eyes crinkled and Sasuke felt his scalp tingle. Beautiful. _Blondie is beautiful, my god._

He sat there, his hand in Naruto's, the blond's smile affecting him strangely. Naruto's face leaned towards his slowly. Sasuke, dazed by the smile, didn't immediately notice. When he did, he pulled his hand away and stood up nervously. He walked to the one window and stood looking out.

What was wrong with him? Just because the guy smiled and looked…well, looked…alright, looked gorgeous, was no reason for him to get soft. What had almost happened just now? Whatever.

Sasuke turned around. Naruto was looking at him with an oddly open expression. Sasuke cleared his throat and gestured at the money in Naruto's lap.

"Go ahead, take half. To make sure I have this straight, I'm living here now, right?"

Anything else was out of the question, Naruto thought. "Of course you live here now."

"Okay, good. I think we should buy some furniture."

Naruto, hurt that Sasuke didn't want to kiss him again, lowered his eyes to the money he held. He swallowed and nodded.

Sasuke watched the lowered head. There was something, a feeling in the air, one that was uncomfortable. Like something large, but unseen in the room. When he could stand the silence no more, he opened his mouth and spoke loudly, breaking the tension.

"Yo, you have got to tell me what is up with that insane strength. Dude! I have _never_ seen anything like that! How do you do it?" Sasuke, caught up in reliving the events of an hour ago, came and sat back down next to Naruto, though he was careful to keep his distance.

Naruto looked up. Maybe Sasuke didn't want to kiss him again, but he was still talking to him, _interested_ in things Naruto did. When everyone else ran away at Naruto's display of strength, Sasuke drew closer, curious. He wanted to know about him, instead of ignoring him. He touched him instead of cringing away. He smiled at him when others turned their eyes away in hate and disgust. And he loved Naruto.

Naruto felt the pain that had seeped into him when Sasuke pulled away just now, roll off of him. He took a deep breath. "I've always been strong. It's not something I do. It's just the way I am."

"Lucky ass! How strong are you?"

Naruto shrugged, flabbergasted by Sasuke's enthusiastic reaction.

"Well, how many people can you carry?"

"People would not allow me to carry them, so I don't know."

"Well…look at Chouji. How many like him could you carry?"

Naruto thought the question ridiculous, but attempted to calculate. "I don't know. Assuming they could fit on my back without falling off…ten, fifteen. I really don't know."

Sasuke mouthed 'wow', his eyes wide. "Man, Chouji was such a wuss, right? I would have at least put up a fight. Wonder how things went when he got home?" Sasuke spent a few minutes cackling at this imagined scene, kicking his legs up. "But his cowardice is our payday!" Sasuke jumped up. " _Cuz I'ma tell you, like Wu told me, cash rules everything…around me…singing dollar dollar bill y'all_ ," Sasuke did some kind of dance in time to this, as Naruto watched. Naruto found Sasuke's voice very pleasant. It was high, his dancing strangely stimulating to look at. He looked at Sasuke for a long time.

* * *

Later, they went shopping for food. Well, Sasuke called it shopping, but when Naruto went to hand the woman the money, Sasuke screamed, pointed to the distance, and when the cashier (and everyone in line) turned to see what he pointed at, he grabbed Naruto and did Shunshin.

They landed three blocks away, arms full of groceries.

"Why didn't you let me pay her," Naruto asked. "Stealing from the nobles is one thing, but we could have paid for the food." He walked beside Sasuke's briskly trotting form.

"You have a lot to learn. Lesson one: Never, _ever,_ spend money when you don't have to. Food is easy to steal. We need that money to buy furniture, which we can't steal because it's too hard to sneak down the street with a bed on your back."

Naruto listened, trying to wrap his mind around Sasuke's outlook on life. It hadn't felt good to rob the Akimichis today. He'd thought it would, but it didn't. He'd almost apologized to the cowering boy earlier today. Still, Naruto found Sasuke's uncompromising negativity fascinating. He could not understand what could possibly be in the boy's mind to make him act the way he did. Everything Sasuke said was so outrageous that Naruto often found himself captivated by the words. They were thought-provoking in a way that was warped and seductive while being repugnant. His actions had the same effect. In other words, fascinating.

-oOo-

They both thoroughly enjoyed the novel experience of putting food away in the fridge. Naruto organized food in the cabinets by categories. They stood back, looking at their handiwork proudly.

"So, can you cook?" Sasuke asked.

"No. Can you?"

"No. We should by a book or something. I don't read too well, but maybe you can do something with it."

* * *

 

They sat in the living room that evening, Sasuke stretched out on his back while Naruto cut his long nails with a nail cutter.

"Ouch, careful, that hurt. Yeah, we'll hit the Naras next. We can't attack like we did today. That clan is super smart. Weak combat-wise, but so smart. It'll take a different strategy. And we can't blackmail them for a weekly amount like we did that buttface today. Actually, we won't be able to do that with any of the rest of the- _ouch, dammit!"_ Sasuke snatched his hand away, shaking it. "Shit, Blondie! I told you be careful!" he examined his nail. Blondie had cut it a bit too short.

Naruto took the hand and singled out the finger he'd hurt. He brought it to his mouth, looking at Sasuke. He planted a soft kiss on it.

Sasuke sat up, his arm tingling all the way to the shoulder. Then he mushed Naruto's head. "Doofus. Okay, so I acted like a baby, whining about it. You didn't have to patronize me like that. Anyways," he said, resuming his previous topic, "The other clans will be too smart and strong to fall for continuous blackmail. We'll have to step up our game. A lot. Don't worry, I'm on it."

Sasuke lay back down. Naruto swallowed hard. Why did Sasuke's words hurt him so much? He'd thought Naruto was playing when he kissed him. Had Sasuke been playing when he kissed Naruto after the Akimichi event? Doubt assailed Naruto.

Yesterday, Sasuke had sworn to kill him if Naruto touched him. But he'd kissed him, he'd said he loved him. How could he say those things if he didn't mean them? Naruto reasoned that maybe last night Sasuke had meant his words. But today's events had changed Sasuke's mind. Maybe he was ashamed, as with the nudity.

Naruto felt Sasuke was full of contrasts. He didn't want to be touched, yet he'd touched Naruto in the blankets and let Naruto touch him. He'd kissed Naruto. What was Naruto supposed to believe? He didn't know. He was confused and didn't know how to speak of the things that confused him. Finally, he decided that as a novice in relating to people, he would follow Sasuke's lead. Perhaps touching was only allowed under certain circumstances. He tried to concentrate on what was being said.

"We need to spend some time observing the Naras, especially that fuck, Shikamaru. Of the whole genius lot of them he's the smartest. We can start tomorrow morning." Sasuke yawned. "Guess that means we should hit the sack. Damn, we didn't buy furniture. I guess one more night on your blankets won't kill me."

He sat up and looked expectantly at Naruto. Naruto got up, got the bedding, and spread it out. Naruto stripped, went to the bathroom and came back out to find Sasuke in the blankets already, wrapped up entirely in the sheet.

"Why do you sleep naked," Sasuke asked.

"Sleeping otherwise is uncomfortable."

"Oh. You don't get cold?"

"Never."

Naruto had to tug the sheets from Sasuke to have any covering. Sasuke hissed. Naruto could see him shivering slightly.

This time he faced Sasuke when he lay down. He wanted to be fully aware of any contact the boy made with him.

* * *

Sasuke was not happy. How was he supposed to leech Blondie's heat if he was awake and staring at him? Why couldn't his back be turned like last night? Even if he fell asleep soon, Sasuke didn't think he had the balls to get under him while Naruto was facing him like this.

He took a peek at the guy. The blue eyes seemed glued to Sasuke's face. Sasuke's black eyes ran up and down Naruto's bare chest, envious that he was warm while he, Sasuke, had to be so cold. It wasn't so bad during the day while he was awake and moving around; he was often chilled, but not as bad as he was at night. At night, in bed, once he was still, he just seemed to feel so much colder.

Sasuke remembered the unbelievable heat from last night. God. That had been sheer, unadulterated heaven, yes it had. Better than the generators. He'd felt so…safe. Sasuke peeked at Naruto again.

"Is something wrong?" Naruto asked in his musical voice. He'd pitched the question in a low tone. Somehow, there in the dark with just the moon giving lambent light, the voice made Sasuke's stomach hurt.

"Huh? No."

"You seem cold."

"Oh. Well, yeah, I am kind of freezing to death."

"Do you wish to share body heat?"

"Um…that's kind of gay…"

"You mention that word often. I take it gay is a bad thing?"

"Well…it is to me…"

"Whatever it is, I will not do gay to you. Come closer and let me warm you."

_Come closer and let me warm you._ The words ached through Sasuke and he swallowed in confusion. He was almost blue with cold, though, and the big dummy clearly knew nothing about sex …and no one needed to know. Sasuke inched closer to the human furnace and stopped, still not quite able to just lie against him.

Still, he was noticeably warmer. Sasuke let out a cry at how wonderful it felt, a soft _'ah'._ He turned toward Naruto so that his face was right near his, feeling all that amazing heat along the front of his body.

His back was cold. Sasuke thought longingly of getting the blond to put his arms around him so that he could be totally immersed in the heat, but no. That was more than even Sasuke dared. He remained where he was, grateful for the heat he was getting. He burrowed closer, his knees touching Naruto's.

Naruto felt his mouth water at this new proximity. He suddenly wanted to bite Sasuke. Instead, he looked at the pale lips, inches from his own, and imagined what it would be like if Sasuke kissed him on the mouth.

He'd seen kissing before. In the streets. It was never something he gave a thought to other than to recognize it as an expression of an emotion he would never feel or receive from another.

Sasuke's eyes flicked to Naruto's and were snagged there. The blue orbs, so pretty with moonlight, were hooded, staring at Sasuke's mouth. He felt his body hum alarmingly, his lips sizzle. Sasuke, very aware of what might happen, made a conscious, very private, never-to-be-thought-of-again decision to let Blondie kiss him…if he wanted to.

He didn't know why he was having these thoughts. He only knew that being this close to Blondie, feeling his heat surround him, those eyes on him, it made him want to be touched by the guy. Touched inappropriately. Touched in private areas. Sasuke, a firm believer in life, would kill himself without hesitation or regret before ever admitting any of these crazy thoughts. But his brutally honest nature could not ignore the way his body reacted whenever he was around Blondie. All the little accidental touches, the voice, those eyes…

Sasuke was attracted to Blondie. He hated that fact while being intrigued by it.

It was just that Blondie was so…unthreatening. Safe. He didn't ridicule or mock Sasuke. He definitely didn't hate Sasuke. He'd offered him a home. That had had a profound effect on the Uchiha. Manipulative, murderous and violent he may be. But his was a loyal personality. Blondie's beauty didn't hurt either.

Sasuke's lips parted involuntarily and he felt…Jesus he felt his dick hardening. His eyes lowered to Naruto's full pink mouth. He edged just a bit closer. Then a little closer still, his body keening for Blondie to touch him despite how wrong he knew it was.

Naruto's nostrils flared. Sasuke was looking at his mouth. He'd moved closer. There was scarcely space enough to slip a hair between their bodies, yet they weren't touching at anyplace other than their knees. A tremor went through Sasuke and Naruto frowned. Maybe he was yet cold? Naruto, mindful of Sasuke's dislike of being touched while at the same time remembering how he'd wrapped himself around Naruto's body last night, hesitantly reached his hand out until his fingertips rested on Sasuke's ribs.

Sasuke arched very slightly toward him.

Naruto extended the touch, sliding his fingers slowly across the ribs beneath the thin shirt until his palm rested on Sasuke's side.

Sasuke was wracked by a tiny shudder…but he did not pull away. He kept looking at Naruto's mouth. Naruto, suddenly fearful of meeting the black gaze and receiving scorn, also kept his eyes on the parted lips. Beneath his hand he could feel Sasuke's ribs expanding with his deeper breaths. Naruto inched his hand forward until it curved behind Sasuke's back, molding to the slight muscles there. Still Sasuke did not pull away.

When Naruto pulled Sasuke up against him deliberately, pressing him hard to the entire length of his front, Sasuke bucked sharply once, twice, three times letting out an ' _uuuuhhhhhhh'_ that was shivered into many syllables by his bucking body and choppy breathing.

Sasuke was humiliated. Blondie had tortured him, set his body on fire with that excruciatingly slow touch and those powerfully erotic eyes staring at his mouth. Sasuke's throat had closed up as his dick grew hard as a rock and tension built in his body, in his sack until when he'd been pulled flush against the heat, feeling the arm come around him at last, he'd cum right there against Blondie's pelvis, right there in Blondie's arms. Sasuke buried his face in the broad chest, dying of shame, while still feeling the orgasm shake through him. Blondie's smell hit his nose then and Sasuke had another, smaller orgasm. He bit his lip to keep from crying out.

Naruto's arm tightened around the shivering boy as he frowned. He rubbed the back in long, slow strokes, trying to warm his friend.

* * *

Elsewhere in the village Kakashi stood at the place he'd been summoned to. The seedier part of Konoha that seemed to crawl out of the woodwork at night was evident everywhere. Not that it was especially absent during the day.

He was eyeing the figure that had just scurried down the block when someone, supposedly the one who'd summoned him, sidled up to his elbow. He didn't bother turning around, keeping the dwindling figure in sight.

An unmarked envelope was passed to Kakashi, who took it just as nonchalantly and slipped it inside his vest. He waited.

"You're former pupil, that bastard Uchiha, attacked me today. He intends to blackmail me. Take care of him."

Kakashi gave an imperceptible nod. He didn't turn around as his supplicant made his way back to wherever he'd come from. He knew it was the younger Akimichi heir. Kakashi waited a beat then walked after the figure he'd been watching before the exchange.

* * *

Sakura was just putting the key into her door when a hard body pressed against her back.

"Don't turn around, just open your door like you were doing," said the low, familiar voice. Sakura whimpered. Why couldn't she have made it home? A hand like iron squeezed down on the muscle by her shoulder making her moan in pain.

"I like it when you moan, Cherry, but I want you moaning for a different reason. _Open the damn door._ "

Sakura pushed the key in the lock and opened her door, stumbling as Kakashi pushed her inside. She fell to her knees and Kakashi was on her immediately. He pulled her up by a fistful of hair and threw her across the room, kicking her door shut behind himself.

She slammed into the wall and stood there, dazed. Kakashi descended on her before she could recover her senses.

-oOo-

She'd hated giving herself to him when she had been his student, but he was definitely the lesser of two evils and the only one willing to go against Sasuke. Once they'd become Chuunins and no longer needed senseis Sasuke had gone his own way. She'd been able to go hers. But Kakashi, used to having her at his mercy, refused to leave her alone. He followed her, attacked her at all times of the day or night. Sometimes he'd grab her and take her, against her will, to some abandoned building and keep her there the entire day, fucking her until her body was numb, sometimes bleeding.

Other times he'd leave her alone for days, weeks at a time. Whenever he was on a mission, Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. She was able to let go of the burning tension she lived with. It was whenever he returned from a long mission that things got really bad.

Like now. She'd heard he'd come back to the village only that morning. He'd been gone for six weeks. He was always extra violent and horny after a long mission.

Now he fell against her and reached a hand between her legs. Her panties were ripped from her as three hard fingers were shoved into her dry pussy. She cried out thinly, going up on her toes to try and alleviate her pain.

Kakashi pumped her pussy roughly, pounding his hand into her until she was wet against her will and the jerking motions made wet sucking sounds. Her hips bucked off the wall as she came with a small scream of revulsion. She hated when she came, somehow feeling betrayed by her body.

Kakashi grunted in approval and pulled his mask down. Sakura knew what was coming and couldn't stop the hot tears that rolled down her face.

She was pushed to the floor, her threadbare dress ripped from her. Kakashi spread her legs wide, her knees held apart against the floor. She could be spread no wider, could be no more exposed. This always made what happened next even worse, the added vulnerability.

Kakashi lowered his mouth to her wet pussy and began eating her.

-oOo-

He always did it with regard for his own wants and pleasures only. His mouth covered her entire opening and sucked hard, so hard. Without fail, she would cum from the hard, painful suction and this would fuel him to suck harder still, biting her, shoving his tongue deep inside her and making sure her clit was paid extra, brutal attention. Sakura would cum again and he would intensify his sucking and biting until the cumming and sucking was a cruel cycle. Sakura would faint only to wake and find she was still being sucked. Her screams only excited Kakashi further. Sometimes, to her shame, her hands found their way into his thick hair seeking any means of support to anchor herself as she felt herself flying apart from the atrocious orgasms. The pleasure and pain mixed together in a diabolical cocktail that had her crying even as she screamed through another orgasm.

More than an hour later he left her frightfully sore pussy, licking his lips avidly of her juice and blood and positioned himself between her trembling thighs. After years of him using her body she still wasn't accustomed to his size. It wasn't that extraordinary, but she was a small person with a small pussy. Even misshapen as her pussy lips and opening now were after years of his abuse, it was still tight. She suspected this was one of the things that kept Kakashi coming back for more.

He freed his cock now and slammed it into her unceremoniously. Her tits jerked at the hard thrust, drawing his gray eye down to them. He bent his head and bit one rosy peak, closing his mouth over existing bite scars as he began fucking her in the hard, fast way he knew caused her pain. It was also the rhythm that afforded him the most pleasure, her tight pussy clamping down on him in defense, trying in vain to mitigate the depth of his thrusts.

He released her legs and they squeezed his thin waist in another attempt to halt his motions somewhat. He didn't know why she bothered, nothing stopped him.

The wet slapping sounds of their sweaty bodies and the juicy sounds her pussy made as he hammered it with his stern cock made his blood boil in desire. He increased his pace, loving the high moans and shrieks that escaped her throat. It was like fucking an animal, the sounds she made. They were harsh, prideless, guttural sounds of pain, pleasure and disgust…mixed with desire. Kakashi privately thought them the most amazingly captivating sounds he'd ever heard. The way her face grimaced in pain and pleasure when she came, the way her tongue lolled through the really vicious thrusts, her eyes rolling at the pain…it all excited him until he wanted to kill her, his bloodlust riding high. But then he wouldn't have these fun dates anymore.

He pulled out of her suddenly, turned her over, and shoved into her tight ass. Sakura screamed and arched her back as her flesh ripped. This only served to allow his body to sink deeper into her and he growled at how her ass was a tight fist around his length. He pumped her firmly, her body hitting the floor with each impact his hips made. She sobbed as different nerves were stimulated and she came again. She pushed all the fingers of her hand into her mouth, trying to stifle the scream that tore from her, but Kakashi yanked her head back by her pink hair and she let the full-throated sound pour out of her as he fucked her hard and fast.

When he came, she sighed in relief, knowing that he never stayed once he did. He pounded into her in frenzied release, breathing roughly on her neck through his orgasm before pulling out of her with a wet popping sound. He stood up, fastened his pants, raised his mask and left her small apartment before she could lift her head from the floor.

-oOo-

Sakura heard the door slam in a dull haze of pain and self-loathing. She felt blood and semen leaking out of her as she contemplated her life. It really wasn't much of an existence. Konoha, having declined in recent years, wasn't given many missions, so money was scarce in the village. She sometimes helped out at the hospital, but she wasn't a highly trained kunoichi. Kakashi hadn't been much of a teacher.

Her life, a miserable shadow of true living, was no place for the child she carried. Not when its father only raped her repeatedly, she lived from hand to mouth, and had no friends or protection.

Her stomach was still flat, but she would show soon. She lay there on the floor, slowly disconnecting herself from everything she knew in this hard world, seeming to float along in the dim, shadowy place between reality and madness. Just before she tipped into the latter, her hand closed over her weapon's pouch. It had fallen to the floor a few feet from where she now lay.

Definitely the realm of the afterlife would be better than here, she thought. Anything would be better than how she lived. The kunai she extracted gleamed in the moonlight, reflecting her green eyes that already seemed dead.

* * *

This time Naruto was dreaming. He felt light, warm touches that were slightly moist fall on him, dotting his face, returning again and again to his mouth. He turned his head away in annoyance, asleep and wanting to stay that way. The warm, moist thing pursued him and he felt some undemanding weight settle onto his body. Naruto managed to find sleep so seldom that when he did accomplish the feat, he slept deeply. Waking up was always an ordeal, but he woke up now. Halfway.

Sasuke. Sasuke was on top of him, kissing… _kissing him._

Naruto's arms came around the light body and crushed Sasuke to him as he turned into the face that hovered over his own.

-oOo-

Sasuke was insane. He knew it. Nothing else could explain why he'd waited until the big guy fell asleep to climb on top of him and give in to the maddening urge to taste those full lips at last. And oh, God, how good they tasted!

It wasn't like Sasuke really knew what he was doing, having never engaged in sexual activities. But he knew what the act consisted of, had seen enough of it going on around Konoha, both the gay and vanilla varieties.

He was eager, not caring if Blondie woke up, he just had to taste him. Sasuke wasn't thinking clearly at all, but he had enough neurons working to register how delicious it felt to lay full length on the large, hot, hard body. Then the muscular arms, arms that were as thick around as Sasuke's thighs, came up to pin Sasuke to the heavenly body, the blue eyes slit open and the mouth that drew Sasuke again and again turned to meet his.

The kiss was clumsy, neither of them having experience. Their lips touched, pressed together while closed and a jolt of pleasure passed from Naruto to Sasuke and back again at the forbidden contact.

Soft, warm, supple. Naruto's mouth was a drug that Sasuke quickly became addicted to. He nibbled it, not knowing what he was doing, but needing to taste it with his tongue, to bite it gently. He pulled back a little as two teeth that hadn't been present a moment ago were suddenly there, curving over the bottom lip. Sasuke tasted these, too, his eyes closed as he gave himself over to the new and heady sensations.

Naruto's mouth opened.

The tongue that slithered out was long, wet and hungry as it lapped at Sasuke's mouth. Sasuke opened his mouth, obeying some wordless command his body gave him and then the tongue was in his mouth and he didn't like it, but he did like it and his tongue was in Blondie's mouth, impossibly, grossly, but it was good, good, so good…Naruto rolled him onto his back and he was so incredibly heavy!

Sasuke couldn't breathe. His lungs were compressed under the weight of the man above him, his head was grabbed and slanted and the tongue went down his throat. It sucked him, drank him, devoured him and Sasuke was soon sucking the tongue and lips and teeth, mindless. His dick was a stone length between them…except so was Naruto's and, God help him, Sasuke liked the way the hard, outrageously big erection felt against his legs.

Grunting breath on his cheek. Clawed hands holding his head and shoulder. Hard body pressing him through the floor. Heat, heat and more heat. Fire, real fire, that sprang up around Blondie to tingle and sizzle his skin. There was more hair than there had been in Sasuke's hands as he clutched the blond head.

_Don't stop. Oh, God Blondie, don't stop doing whatever this is!_

* * *

 Kakashi, wanting to get the job over with, went to a few of Sasuke's usual haunts and summoned his Ninken. The small hounds caught Sasuke's scent and ran off, pursuing it. Kakashi followed, sated from sex and thinking about more once this business was concluded.

The canines stopped in front of a dilapidated building. They disappeared as Kakashi stared up at it in speculation. Since when had Sasuke found a home? It wouldn't be wise to attack with so many unknowns. Better to wait and see if Sasuke had made friends. They might put up a fight, which would necessitate their disposal, which would drive up the cost of this little operation.

Kakashi settled down to wait on an adjacent rooftop, pulling out a book to read in the moonlight.

* * *

Morning. Sasuke's eyes flew open. He was on his stomach, his head turned away from the body he could feel next to him. A quick assessment afforded him the knowledge that his clothes were still on, thank fuck. He felt a weight on his back and rolled his eyes downward. He caught a glimpse of a large, tanned, veined hand, the fingers dangling off of his side. He could feel humid breathing stirring the hairs on his head.

Sasuke shot out from under the arm, off the blanket, and into the bathroom with the speed of a thrown shuriken. He slammed the door hard on the room, the blond, last night and the things he had done. For good measure he turned the lock with a loud _snick._

_Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!_ Whyyyyyyyy, in God's naaaaaaaaaaame, had he done that? He'd been all over that man out there, all _over_ him. Sasuke sat on the closed toilet seat and dropped his head into his hands.

Okay.

Okay.

Time to face the music. It was okay, he was in the bathroom, the door was closed and locked and nobody would have to know whatever he admitted in the confines of this small, tiled room.

First and foremost. Did he or didn't he deliberately do that shit last night, that…that kissing. Sasuke swallowed.

Yes. Yes, he had.

Second. Did he or didn't he enjoy it.

Guilty as charged.

Third. And this was the mother load here: Was he gay.

…..

…..

…..

Next question. Was he going to do it again.

His body said _'Hell, yes'_ while his mind said _'Fuck, no'._ Answer unknown, then.

Last. How to proceed from here.

If Blondie brought it up he'd simply lie down and die. That's it. He could not face this out there, in the real world. He just couldn't. But in here…in here he could acknowledge to himself that he'd liked it and…alright, yes, dammit, he'd be doing it again if he could get away with it. And all of that was nothing to the incident of his orgasm. Sasuke whimpered in dismay, remembering it. Even now, the front of his pants was stiff with his jizz.

Wait a minute. What about Blondie? He'd done some stuff, too, recindercated…no… _reciprocated,_ that was the word. He'd reciprocated Sasuke's advances…but he'd also been mostly asleep. Or had he?

_This is stupid, just get up off your ass and act like you have a pair_ , Sasuke told himself. He suited action to words and went to the sink, intending to splash water on his face. His cheeks felt as if they were burning.

He stopped as he looked in the mirror. His lips were red and swollen. His eyes were over bright and his cheeks were indeed tinged with red. Sasuke grimaced. He looked just like a fucking _girl._

Sasuke splashed his face vigorously, rinsed his mouth, pissed, attempted to scrub the front of his pants and gave up. He shut off the water, took a deep breath and turned for the door. _Courage._

* * *

 

Naruto saw the bathroom door creak open at last. Sasuke had been in there for an hour. He'd been sitting there on the blanket since Sasuke had dashed out of the room as if it had been on fire. He yawned, watching Sasuke exit the bathroom with a strange, guilty look on his face. His eyes stuttered to Naruto's before skipping away to look around the empty room.

Naruto remembered what they'd been doing last night. He'd been unable to get enough of Sasuke's sweet mouth, his light, eager touches that told him he was wanted, not a monster. Perhaps Sasuke had gotten scared? He didn't meet Naruto's eyes again. The blond surmised that Sasuke had not liked what Naruto had done…even though he'd initiated it.

As for Naruto, the combination of Sasuke's declaration, his own strong, pure love for the slim boy and the events of last night all served to make him feel very close and attached to his partner. His heart thudded in his chest at how Sasuke had moaned into his mouth last night.

Ah. Naruto remembered what he'd done with his tongue. That must have been it, where he'd gone wrong. He would not do that again.

Obviously, he'd been right earlier: touching was only acceptable under certain circumstances. Those circumstances seemed to be at night and in the blankets. And it wasn't to be discussed afterward. Naruto thought he would be able to conform to these rules. He would conform to anything to feel Sasuke touch him again.

Sasuke broke the silence.

"Dude, I need clothes in the worst way."

Naruto looked up at him calmly.

"So, uh…I figure I'm going to go out and shop for a bit…"

"That is fine. I need to train this morning. I didn't train yesterday."

"Cool. So…meet you back here in a couple hours?"

Naruto nodded.

"Fine. Catch ya lata." Sasuke fumbled the lock a bit, but managed to get out the door. He closed it firmly behind himself. _So far, so good,_ he thought as he jogged down the uneven steps. _I just need a little time before I can be around him._

Kakashi saw his ex-student trot out the building, looking considerably cleaner than he'd ever seen him, and moved to follow.


	4. Chapter 4

Sasuke jogged along. His eyes darted in the practiced way that missed nothing so he knew he had a tail. By pretending to glance at a woman who shouted to a man across the street, he glimpsed, very briefly, a masked individual and angled forehead protector. _Extremely_ brief glimpse. The guy seemed to vanish. Sasuke knew better.

Kakashi. What did he want, dammit? It probably wasn't to tell him he'd won the lottery.

Sasuke stopped near an onigiri vendor, who immediately began shouting at him to be gone. Sasuke shouted back, making a scene, gesturing wildly…and managing to ascertain that his tail had stopped when he did. Sasuke did the unthinkable. He actually paid for one of the balls of rice the man sold, shutting him up once and for all. This he did so that he might use the cover of digging in his pocket for money to see if Kakashi was sneaking up on him. Sasuke handed the money over with ill grace.

Sasuke turned away with a muttered oath. When he was some distance away, he fished the three extra onigiri he'd filched out of his pocket and ate all of them, sucking his fingers after each one.

He slowed down, sped up, stopped….Kakashi stuck with him. The one thing Sasuke didn't do was allow himself to be caught on any less populated street or, even worse, a deserted one.

Sasuke knew now that Kakashi wanted that very thing. Nothing else explained his persistence. Then, of course, Sasuke would be gutted from balls to chin; the only thing that required a tail and a deserted street was murder. He was under no illusions that Kakashi wanted to rob him like he'd robbed Chouji yesterday under similar circumstances.

So basically, as far as Sasuke could tell, he was in deep shit. Kakashi wouldn't piss on someone to save his life is the person was on fire unless he got something out of it. Someone had tempted Kakashi with something to end Sasuke's breath. That someone was probably fat and the son a noble who owned a chain of restaurants. Seething, he went over his options.

Sasuke couldn't double back to the apartment, Kakashi would notice that. He wasn't very optimistic of the outcome of a fight between him and his ex-teacher. He could hold his own for a while maybe, but fuck, that was a trained, seasoned, totally ruthless Jounin right there.

Where had Blondie said he was going? Training? Where would that happen, at the training grounds? Shit. There was a lot of deserted road between here and there. Sasuke headed in that direction anyway. Maybe together, he and Blondie could take Kakashi.

* * *

Naruto arrived at the training grounds to find Konohamaru waiting for him. The boy did not have any bags with him this time and Naruto thought contentedly that if Sasuke continued to run things, he would not need to rely on Konohamaru's food parcels again.

"Hi, Naruto! Can we train?"

"We trained two days ago, didn't we?"

"Yeah…so…can't we train again?" Konohamaru trailed after Naruto's long strides, following him deeper into the training grounds.

"You normally seek training from me only once a week. I'm sorry, but I need to train myself this morning."

"But-"

"Konohamaru," Naruto turned to him, remembering the word Sasuke kept using, "What does 'gay' mean?"

The boy pulled up short, looking up at his giant friend with wide eyes. "Gay?"

Naruto waited.

The preteen thought about it. "That depends on how it was used. Gimme a sentence."

"I do not have one…but the word was used in relation to touching genitals and sharing body heat."

Konohamaru's eyes crinkled as he grinned, smothering his laughter. "Oh. Well, that would mean doing junk between two guys."

"Excuse me?"

"Sex. Between guys. Means Gay."

"Is sex usually performed some other way?"

The boy cocked his head, amazed that he was tasked with the job of giving a sex ed lesson to the village's most dangerous person. "Yeah…it's usually done between a guy and a girl."

"I see. What is sex, then?"

"What? Man, where do you live, in a vacuum? Sex is sex, man, fucking!"

"Yes," Naruto breathed looking off to the horizon. "That word was used as well. Fucking," Naruto tasted the word on his tongue. He brought his eyes back to the boy beside him.

"I still don't understand, though."

"How do you think babies get made?"

"I do not know or care."

"Well, it's through sex."

Silence. Konohamaru resigned himself to the fact that he would have to get gross and graphic here.

"A guy, that's you, takes his dick," Konohamaru jabbed a finger towards Naruto's groin, "and puts it in a girl. That's sex. Gay sex is the same thing except you can't make babies and your dick goes in his ass instead of a pussy."

Naruto tried to make sense of this explanation as they walked. Strange thoughts, half-formed ideas and labored speculation circled his mind.

"Hey, did you hear that the Akimichi's got robbed yesterday?! Awesome, right?"

Naruto was brought out of his reverie. He kept his eyes straight ahead as his small companion continued.

"I heard it was that shark Uchiha who did it. It's kind of strange, when you think about it. Uchiha's never gone after a noble before, it kind of makes you wonder why he's doing it now. Someone said he had help, but the Akimichis aren't talking. I guess, though, that it kind of makes sense him going after a noble, seeing as he's one himself."

Naruto stopped walking. "Pardon? Sasuke is a noble?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, the Uchihas used to be the richest, most powerful nobles in Konoha. Even more than the Hyuugas. I heard through a rumor that they were planning on taking over the village or some nonsense so they had to be killed, but that doesn't explain why Itachi was the one who did the killing. But yeah, Sasuke was in the compound when it happened. He was even in there when they burned it to the ground the next day. ANBU was sent in to make sure everybody was dead and they found him hiding in a collapsed basement."

Naruto digested this in his customary silence. He'd learned a lot today, and all it had done was spawn more questions. He would need to speak with Sasuke.

"Konohamaru you should leave now. I need to train."

"Awwww, can't we-"

"No."

The boy watched Naruto's retreating back sadly, then turned to trot back to the village proper.

* * *

Sasuke ran. They'd left the main streets of the village behind and Kakashi was no longer bothering with stealth. His sensei was incredibly fast. By virtue of his slim build and years on the streets, so was Sasuke. He knew he couldn't evade the Jounin forever, though. The training grounds was still a good two miles away.

"Raikiri!"

Sasuke dodged, the jagged lance of electricity narrowly missing him. He'd fallen to the dirt to escape that attack. Getting to his feet and building up his speed again cost him his lead. Kakashi landed in front of him as Sasuke was just getting into his stride again.

Kakashi hadn't even bothered to uncover his stolen Sharingan. Sasuke didn't know if this was a blessing or not; Kakashi was definitely weaker without it…but him leaving it covered might mean he could take Sasuke without it.

Sasuke was under no illusions about his ninja skills. He never practiced, wasn't very good at the few lessons Kakashi did throw to his team and Sasuke had never really had much interest in academics or tedious hand seals and strategies. Taijutsu was the only thing he was halfway decent at and even that was rough, bastardized by his lifestyle and the thugs he normally fought.

Dodging another attack, Sasuke thought that he might not even last the short while against his teacher. He should have stayed in the village, not tried to find his partner. He was probably going to be killed very shortly.

Sasuke vowed to draw blood before that happened. He wasn't going down easily.

* * *

Naruto, sitting on the ground with his legs crossed, closed his eyes as he prepared for his pre-training meditation. He cleared his mind of all outside stimuli, he concentrated on his breathing, timing it...inhale…exhale…

* * *

It was a slaughter. Sasuke was weak. He knew that now. He doubled over as Kakashi rammed a fist into his stomach, blood and spit pouring out of his mouth with the sick pain. Sasuke used the contact to grab Kakashi by the throat and let loose a blast of lightning. He could barely see, his eyes were swollen almost completely shut.

Kakashi brought his kunai down into Sasuke's back. Sasuke felt the icy coldness enter him to be replaced with a burning sensation. He didn't scream.

* * *

Naruto was nearly there…almost completely disconnected from external influences. Someone was releasing a lot of chakra not too far away, probably also training. Naruto had been consistently ignoring it when a particular spike in one of the chakra sources caught his attention. Naruto's eyes opened. He recognized that chakra signature.

Sasuke.

* * *

Sasuke's movements grew slower and slower, making it seem as though Kakashi moved with blurred speed. Or maybe he really did move with that frightening speed. Sasuke could not see where the blows came from. He felt them though. A deep gash opened on his thigh, spraying arterial blood as he lay on the ground. He felt an immediate lessening in his energy and strength; the cut must have nicked his aorta.

Sasuke just caught sight of the gray hair and swiped a leg at it. His foot connected only because his murderer thought him beat already. He hadn't moved back fast enough. Kakashi staggered slightly at the blow to his head, pausing long enough for Sasuke to bring the hand he had wrapped around a rock slamming into his balls. Kakashi grunted, fell to one knee and Sasuke was on him, his teeth going for the fucker's throat.

* * *

Naruto descended into Kyuubi before he was fully out of his sitting position. His mind became less human, his thoughts more bestial. A thirst for blood caused him to salivate as he ran, the liquid dripping from his large curved teeth and darkened lips. He galloped on all fours, tearing up the grassy ground as his muscles moved in the synchronized, silent fluidity that was the hallmark of all dangerous predators.

* * *

Sasuke's teeth just missed closing over Kakashi's jugular vein. He felt a sizzle, then he was numb. He looked down to where Kakashi's hand, coated with lightning, disappeared into his side. Then he was falling off of the hand in slow motion, feeling nothing but dull rage that he had going out like this…he hit the ground and didn't even feel it. He had no control over his muscles, over his body anymore. His head landed, turned to the side, and he saw Kakashi's sandaled feet walk close to his head. His bug's eye view showed filthy toe nails, dry cracked skin on the crusty feet.

He rolled his eyes, the only part of him that he could move, upward. Kakashi looked down at him with his one eye. Not a word had been spoken between either of them. None were spoken now. Neither possessed the emotions or ethics to claim moral high ground or victim. It was just another statistic in the village of Konoha.

A sigh. That was Sasuke's only acknowledgement of his impending demise. His eyes left Kakashi, went back to the space immediately in front of his face. Dirt, pebbles, the ugly feet… _Blondie._

Sasuke saw the differences, the fire (shit, that had been _real?_ ) that surrounded him, but the essence was his Blondie. He ran like an animal, his teeth bared and very large. Sasuke felt the ground shudder beneath his face at the footfalls, but Blondie moved silently, drawing closer…Sasuke didn't notice the feet turning as the new chakra was felt, the killing intent sensed. Blondie leaped and Sasuke thought it was a beautiful thing, the grace and power of that leap. It carried Blondie into Kakashi and Sasuke heard snarling, growling noises. Obscenely wet, grisly sounds accompanied Kakashi's screams and Sasuke managed to turn his head with a superhuman effort.

He was in time to see Blondie tear Kakashi's head from his shoulders and drop it, rolling, on the dirt. Sasuke stared in morbid fascination as the mouth continued to open and close for a few seconds. Blondie came over to him.

Red animal eyes. Teeth made for ripping meat apart. Dark lips. Whiskers more prominent than before, bushy hair, hard, white, lethal-looking claws.

"Wow, Blondie," Sasuke whispered weakly. "You been holding out…" A small fountain of blood poured out of Sasuke's mouth with these words. Naruto let out a high pitched whine, bending down to sniff Sasuke.

"You need the hospital, Sasuke." Naruto's voice was guttural.

"'kay. Blondie…do me a favor first."

Sasuke was blacking out, but he managed to give the orders and Naruto executed them quickly. He returned to Sasuke's side, lifted him carefully onto his back and proceeded to run with him to Konoha Hospital.

* * *

Villagers screamed, nearly causing a riot as they ran out of the way when they saw him running by. They all feared he was on the rampage, ready to attack the village like it was attacked some sixteen years ago. The way he ran on all fours with a bloody body on his back had them dashing into homes or shops, barring their doors, running frantically in the opposite direction with kids clutched protectively to chests.

Naruto neither saw nor cared about any of this. He got to Konoha hospital and crashed through the doors, sending both metal structures flying off their hinges. Medics present in the emergency room entrance took one look at him and tried to run but Naruto snagged one by the collar and threw him so that he landed against the nearest gurney. Naruto quickly laid Sasuke on this same gurney.

"Help him," he instructed the frightened medic. He cast his red gaze at the other cowering doctors and nurses. He growled low in his throat, his dripping fangs bared.

They all dashed to Sasuke and whisked him away on the gurney, already maintaining Mystical Palm over his serious injuries. Naruto followed.

-oOo-

It was close. Sasuke had lost an exorbitant amount of blood. His internal organs, places the kunai or lightning attacks had damaged, were healed first. Then he received stitches. He was stitched in so many places that he resembled a patchwork of clumsy design. The black nylon threads were a stark contrast against Sasuke's white skin.

The doctors, perhaps intimidated by Naruto's presence hovering over them, perhaps genuine healers dedicated to their craft, performed to the very best of their capabilities, using every ounce of training and experience they had to save Sasuke's life.

When the tallest of the white robed physicians turned toward him, Naruto noticed that the other doctors and nurses crowded behind him, lending support.

"He's weak from blood loss, but he's stable. We'll be giving him blood replenishing tablets and medication to dull his pain while he heals. His stitches will be able to come out in a couple of weeks. Are you his kin?"

"He is mine. My…partner," Naruto managed at last. Glances were exchanged.

"Yes, well," the doctor cleared his throat. "He needs to remain in observation for 48 hours. If there are no complications you can take him home then. I'm sure he'll recuperate fine under your…care. His name?"

"Uchiha Sasuke." Eyebrows were raised, but Naruto saw the information jotted down on a clipboard by one of the nurses. They all returned their eyes to him after a moment. Naruto towered over them.

"Right," the doctor said uncomfortably. "You may remain with him, but he's heavily sedated, don't try to disturb him. A nurse will be along to check on him later."

Naruto's wild, bloody form was raked with apprehensive eyes. The doctor gathered his courage in his hands. "Do you…require healing?"

Naruto's eyes had been fixed on the rise and fall of Sasuke's chest. He looked at the assembled people before him again and they all edged backward a step. "No. I don't."

As one they wilted in relief, still bunched together in a rough triangle, the point of which was the tall doctor who'd been doing the speaking. He gestured behind him with the palms of his hands and they all began shuffling backward toward the hall.

"I'll leave you, then," the doctor said. Naruto watched them go. When the door shut behind the last figure, Naruto dropped Sasuke's sack that he'd been holding and went over to his sleeping partner.

He was no longer in Kyuubi state. He let a hand rest briefly on Sasuke's soft hair before he pulled up a chair and began waiting.

* * *

Chouji waited impatiently in his home to hear news from Kakashi. The evening passed after he'd given him the job, morning came, afternoon slipped by with still no word. His father, sitting at their massive table, tipped sideways in his chair so that he could break wind spectacularly. Chouji winced at the smell.

"You're not eating, son," Choza observed. "Ever since that attack, you've been acting strangely. Are you sure you don't know who did it?"

"I'm sure, father."

Choza grunted as he bit into a turkey leg. Juice ran down his chin and fingers as he spoke while chewing. "I find it very odd that the guards also don't know who attacked them. What good are they? I will have them replaced. And I will make the rounds this coming week."

Chouji's head came up quickly, his eyes wide. Much as he hated to admit it, the reason he hadn't heard news might be because Kakashi had failed. If that were the case, then Sasuke would be expecting payment on Sunday. That he could do without his father's knowledge. But Sasuke might decide to revenge himself on Chouji for the attempted murder by going after Chouji's father. That he couldn't allow, not when the mess was his to fix.

If Kakashi had failed, Chouji was under no illusions that Sasuke wouldn't figure out who had ordered the hit. His lips trembled as he hastened to redirect his father's thinking.

"Oh…father that is unnecessary. Let me handle the rounds as I have been doing. I cannot hope to win your respect and approval, or be worthy to take over, if I can't deal with a little adversity. Please father. I will handle the matter."

Choza looked at his son as he belched resoundingly. "Alright. You can make the rounds this week. But if anything else goes wrong, I will be stepping in."

"Yes, father. Understood."

Chouji lowered his face to his plate and made an effort to eat.

* * *

Sasuke opened his eyes and saw a window. Outside the window it was night. In the night there was the moon. And silhouetted against the moon was an owl on a branch. The eyes looked at him with blank yellow brilliance and the eyes were Sasuke's eyes, showing him things …bad things…

Sasuke was high on pain meds.

Naruto laid a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, waking him from the nightmare, only to find that Sasuke's eyes were open. Those large black eyes turned to Naruto, looked at him, through him.

" _So much blood,"_ Sasuke whispered fervently. " _So, so much blood. Itachi, why? Whyyy? Noooo!"_

"Sasuke!" Naruto said sharply. The black eyes focused slowly.

"Blondie."

"Yes. I'm here."

"You're all I have. Don't you leave me, too." Sasuke's voice was barely a whisper. His eyes fluttered closed.

-oOo-

The next time Sasuke spoke was a few hours later. He woke suddenly, sitting up in the bed and shivering. "Blondie?!"

"I'm here," Naruto said.

Sasuke's head swiveled, his eyes searching out Naruto in the darkened room. "Where are we, the hospital?"

"Yes. You-"

"Get me out of here. Now."

"No. The doctors said-"

Sasuke grimaced with the effort of throwing the sheet off of his bandaged legs. He tried to get off the bed. Naruto rushed to his side. "What are you doing? You're too weak to leave here. You need-"

"Blondie, get me out of this place right now. Right the fuck now!"

Naruto tried to restrain Sasuke as best he could without hurting him further. Already some of the bandages were turning red again. He saw a button attached to a cord on Sasuke's pillow and pressed it, hoping help would come.

It was the tall doctor who came striding into the room a minute later. He took one look at Sasuke feebly trying to get past Naruto's body and leaned back into the hall to sharply summon two male nurses.

Together they managed to wrestle Sasuke gently but firmly back into the bed. Sasuke, though, would not be still. He ripped his stitches, fought, yelled, pleaded. Naruto watched in fascination. Why did Sasuke fight the people who tried to help him?

"Blondie!" The voice was desperate.

The doctor and nurses were becoming agitated as well. "What is it you want, Sasuke?"

"I want to go home!"

The doctor reasoned that in all likelihood, the patient would recover more peacefully in familiar environs. And it would serve to get that hulking monster who'd brought him out of his hospital.

"Will you swear to rest and take your meds if I discharge you?" the doctor asked.

Sasuke stopped struggling immediately. His head nodded jerkily, his lips white. The doctor, taking advantage of Sasuke's still state, healed the wounds that had broken open and reapplied some of the soiled bandages with the nurses' help.

"Alright. You," he pointed at Naruto. "Come with me, so that I can show you what he needs to take and when he needs to take it."

Naruto began following the doctor, a man who came to Naruto's chin, out of the room.

"Blondie," Sasuke said in a small, panicked voice. "Blondie, don't leave me in here with them. Please." Sasuke's eyes darted at the male nurses, who were staring at him. Naruto paused in the doorway.

The doctor couldn't convince Naruto to leave after that so he disappeared up the hall to retrieve the meds alone. Naruto eyed the nurses, who were looking at him now that he'd opted to stay in the room.

The doctor returned. He spent some minutes showing the silent Naruto the pain meds, blood replenishing pills and ointments for his stitches. He showed Naruto how to change the bandages. Naruto said not a word as he signed some release forms and was given the white paper bag of pills and gauze. The doctor and nurses left the room. Naruto turned to Sasuke.

"Thanks, Blondie. Help me, will you?"

Naruto was feeling increasingly nervous, but he went to Sasuke, tucked the sheet around him and lifted him against his broad chest. He walked out of the hospital carrying Sasuke, the sheet trailing to one side.

* * *

Naruto estimated the time to be no more than two hours before dawn when he got outside. A half moon gave tepid light as he bounded along rooftops to his home. He managed to get his door open while holding Sasuke with one arm, then maneuvered them through the doorway. He set the tottering Sasuke down near the door.

The blankets were brought forth, spread, arranged. Sasuke, in his hospital gown, was laid in them and tucked in. Naruto stood back.

Sasuke looked up at him, shivering already. He tried to catch Naruto's eye, but the big blond turned away form him and went into the bathroom. The door was firmly shut and Sasuke sagged a bit.

Naruto took a good long look at himself in his mirror. His eyes widened till white showed all the way around the blue.

He'd come in here to escape Sasuke. Sasuke had seen him, seen _it._ The beast, the demon that lived in him had come out and done happy damage, killed as it was born to do. And Sasuke had seen that. Surely Sasuke would hate him now, despite his pleas for help in the hospital. Sasuke was ill with his injuries now, but once he recovered he would want nothing to do with the monster Naruto was.

That was what had driven him into the bathroom. Now that he saw his face, saw how he looked…how could he face Sasuke ever again?

_I_ am _a monster,_ Naruto thought. Blood and viscera were dried, streaked on him in thick scarlet ropes. It was on his face, in his hair, all over his body. He lifted his hands and found them stiff with the gloves of blood that had dried there. Skin and gore were caked beneath his nails.

It had been a long time since Naruto had lost control like he had today. Not since he was with his sensei. It shook him badly, the reminder of what he was. It wasn't something he ever thought on extensively, but with Sasuke he'd been able to feel normal.

Naruto's reflection seemed to leer at him, to mock him for ever thinking he was something other than a demon made to kill and maim and destroy. For thinking that being with Sasuke could change him. Maybe…maybe Sasuke had liked him before today. But now that he'd witnessed him kill, seen what he really was? Never. Impossible. Naruto was certain that Sasuke's love was now as dead as his attacker.

Naruto's fist crashed into the mirror, through the wall behind it.

* * *

Out in the main room, Sasuke heard the crash and jumped. What was Blondie doing? He hoped he came back soon, He was freezing and hurting and he didn't want to be alone out here.

Sasuke had never had anyone have his back like that. Blondie had fucking _rescued_ him from the jaws of death. Outta nowhere! He'd come running like some demon/god thing and killed Kakashi. For him. For him, Uchiha Sasuke, probably one of the most hated people in Konoha.

He felt an odd pain in his chest that had nothing to do with his injuries. He'd been about to die and Blondie had known it from wherever he was and come for him. That meant he meant something to Blondie, didn't it? That he was maybe sorta kind of a little bit important to Blondie? Maybe Blondie wanted… _stop it._

But this thought could not be erased. Blondie had killed for him and taken Sasuke to the hospital and _stayed there_ until Sasuke woke up. He'd saved him.

Blondie cared about him.

And Sasuke, dying for affection from any quarter though he would have scorned the idea if he'd heard it, wanted to be cared about. He needed it. He needed Blondie with his big hot body and uncomplicated outlook on life. His calm self-confidence and quiet strength soothed Sasuke's hyper mind. Blondie was the only person Sasuke could let his defenses down around. The only person who had never hurt him or ridiculed him in any way, ever.

He was in love with Blondie. _Damn! I_ am _Gay!_

Well, that was unimportant right now. What was important was the fact that he was sitting out here on his narrow ass, freezing. His pain meds were wearing off and all he wanted…no, _needed_ was for Blondie to come out of the bathroom and wrap his huge arms around Sasuke and make him feel safe and warm again.

Sasuke heard the shower. Okay, that made sense, Blondie had been rank with Kakashi's blood, but Sasuke still resented this further delay. He tried to wrap himself up in the sheet, but he was too sore and weak to manage it.

* * *

Naruto turned the water on as hot as he could stand and scrubbed himself with soap and shampoo until his skin was raw. The scratches he inflicted healed instantly. He scoured his nails with the rag until they were squeaky clean, no trace of filth left beneath them. His almost new bar of Irish Spring soap was nothing but a transparent sliver by the time he was done. The shampoo was finished.

Sasuke saw Blondie exit the bathroom ahead of a cloud of steam that quickly dispersed. A white towel hung low on his hips. He went to the kitchen. Sasuke heard sounds of eating before Blondie came back out. He glanced at Sasuke.

Sasuke felt punched in the throat by the blue gaze that lanced his way. Naruto did not come to the blankets, though. He squatted across the room, against the far wall, idly cracking his knuckles as he stared at his hands.

Sasuke sat with the sheet twisting nervously in his hands. "Bl-Blondie?"

A flick of blue eyes his way.

"Blondie, what's wrong? Are-aren't you coming over here?"

"You do not want me near you right now." _I'm not fit to touch you._

_That's all I want._ "What? What are you talking about, you know I can't do without your heat. I'm turning into ice, here. And me not at my best to begin with…"

"You should try to get some rest." _How can you look at me?_

_He regrets saving me!_ "You're not coming?"

Naruto looked fully at Sasuke. Yesterday he'd thought the boy loved him. Maybe he still does? Maybe what he'd seen hadn't changed his feelings? He wanted Naruto to warm him again like last night….Perhaps?

He stood, dropping the damp towel, and walked cautiously to where Sasuke sat huddled with the miserable sheet. Sasuke made room as Naruto laid down on the blankets, turning on his side to face Sasuke.

The Uchiha sighed happily. He moved close to Naruto, waiting for him to put his muscular arm around Sasuke, but it didn't happen. Sasuke waited, feeling the irresistible heat of Naruto's body call to him.

Naruto waited to see if Sasuke would initiate the touching again. The special circumstances were present and if Sasuke really had not been repulsed by the demon in him he would begin the touching as he had last night.

Sasuke was nothing if not bold. His feelings were newly discovered, tender yet, but there. He turned to face Naruto, feeling as if they'd done this particular dance a thousand times. He pressed his body along the front of Naruto's and the arm gathered him close at last. A leg, monstrously heavy but wonderfully warm, was thrown over his. Sasuke's head rested under Naruto's chin, smelled the Irish Spring-scented skin and the pale youth closed his eyes in satisfaction.

Naruto stared down at the dark head. He had to ask. It was opening himself to brutal rejection but he had to know, the uncertainty was killing him.

"Sasuke. You saw me today, saw what I am. Why do you still want to be in my presence? Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"

Sasuke tried to laugh but it hurt too much. "Blondie, you saved me! Be in your presence? Man, _please._ "

"But I'm a demon, Sasuke."

"Yeah, I saw that. It was weird…but honestly can you think of cooler shit than the way you took out Kakashi today?"

"But-"

"Look, I've figured out that this is your big bad secret, didn't take a genius once I saw it, but so what? You're not like that all the time and you don't go around killing people…that's actually my MO. I mean I had to talk you into robbing Akimichi."

So what? _So what?_ Naruto's face was stern with the force of his disbelief. Who was this person who'd seen him kill in Kyuubi form and said 'so what' afterward!?

Naruto lifted the pointed chin on his broad fingertips so that he could stare deeply into the dark eyes. "You accept me, Sasuke? Even as I am?"

The intensity of the blue eyes did a better job of heating Sasuke up than the arms and legs did. His words got all mixed up on his tongue so that he stuttered.

"H-Hells, yes. You saved my life. I d-don't think there's anyone in the village who thinks my life is worth anything."

Naruto shifted his hand so that it rested against the wan cheek. "Your life means something to me. You are the first person to acknowledge me and accept me."

"Oh. I am?"

"Yes." The hand eased along Sasuke's jaw until it cupped the back of his head. "Sasuke."

Those blue eyes were sucking the very life out of him. "H-huh?"

"I love you. I have never loved another."

Naruto's face was so unguarded that Sasuke knew he could trust this man no matter what. With everything. Even his most private feelings.

"I…I think I...l-love you, too."

Naruto did not mention the first time Sasuke had said those words. He could feel that this declaration was different. This was a coming together of two unwanted souls.

"Sasuke…I learned what gay means…after a fashion. I will not do that to you but…I want to feel your mouth on mine again, your hands on my body. I want to taste you…everywhere. Everywhere, Sasuke."

Sasuke stretched and met the full lips with his own.


	5. Chapter 5

Careful, cautious turning towards each other. Full lips meeting soft sweet ones. Sasuke's tongue was at first firmly barred entry, but then Naruto relented at the persistence. A slick, sliding meeting of the two.

A large warm hand that roamed over bandages. Rising temperatures. Rising flesh. Clothes gone, skin exposed, naked heat. Soft sighs. A hot tongue that licked the fair and delicate throat, the pointed ears. Timid hands fluttering over hard muscles. A large body settling on the smaller one. Hiss of pain as wounds were pressed. Adjustments made. Whispered words:

"Are you alright?"

"Yes. Oh, Blondie…"

"Am I hurting you when I touch you like this?"

"Yes. But I like the way you hurt me. Touch me more, Blondie. Here."

Naruto's hand was grasped in the dark and brought downward. He closed his fingers around the slim length.

"Yessss," Sasuke sighed. "Like that."

More kisses. Deep, humid kisses that robbed senses, inflamed bodies. And the hand. The hand that slid hesitantly up and down. Another hand, more slender than the first, searched for and found a much thicker length. It held this new length lightly, its owner distracted by the motions of the other hand.

Oh, Naruto thought. His organ was being held and that felt-

Sasuke opened his eyes at the rumbling growl. Eyes glowed redly down at him, fangs gleamed in the dull light the orange chakra afforded. His thin hand closed down on the hard meat he held as claws delicately ripped his bandages from him. The red-eyed, shaggy head lowered to his fully nude body with a purring sound.

His tongue. Oh, God, his long hot tongue. Sasuke's wounds had begun oozing and the tongue licked the blood they leaked. He was still weak, still sore, he could do little beside lie there under the sweet torment of that tongue. His hands played lightly over the strong broad shoulders as his wounds were cleaned. The deep purring sent shivers through his skin.

There was something very soothing and sinfully erotic about Blondie lapping his blood, tasting his pain. Sasuke found that as the chakra coated tongue touched his wounds, his pain was significantly reduced. Almost as if Blondie really were ingesting his discomfort. Sasuke was firmly turned onto his stomach and the tongue gave attention to the stitched lacerations on his back. Sasuke arched, sighing in surrender to his first experience with sensual pleasures of this magnitude.

Naruto did not let an inch of skin escape him. When Sasuke arched his back, Naruto was presented with his smooth buttocks, the cheeks exposing the intriguing hole nestled between them. Naruto lowered his face to this ring of flesh, smelling.

Sasuke clutched the blankets, arching his back harder as he squealed. That wicked tongue delved between his cheeks tasting the entire valley of flesh with long, slow, wet swipes.

Naruto purred, liking the strange, faintly bitter taste. He lapped until the small ring of flesh contracted rhythmically beneath his lips. He salivated with the urge to bite, the clear fluid dripping onto Sasuke in large amounts. His saliva was slimy and stretchy, just like a dog's…it coated Sasuke's skin as Naruto pressed his mouth to one cheek and bit, letting his fangs pierce the tender flesh. Sasuke bayed at the ceiling. His hands opened and closed on the blankets as Naruto licked this fresh injury, his chakra healing the punctures. Naruto turned Sasuke over again, lowering his face to the stiff organ he wanted to swallow.

Sasuke's limp body allowed Naruto to put his legs over the massive shoulders, allowed his hips to be lifted in strong hands as an offering to the eager mouth that closed over his penis with an entirety that left him mewling and whining in a high pitched voice. Wordless sounds left him as Naruto took all of him in his mouth and sucked slowly, not too hard, not too soft, his tongue twining around his organ until Sasuke was panting.

Purrs, growls, increased suction. Tension and heat that rose with the intensity of the oral ministrations. Sasuke's hips were held firmly to that mouth, his legs holding desperately to the shoulders as he came once, twice, three times. Blondie swallowed these offerings greedily, never letting the organ in his mouth go.

Sasuke's entire body shook with the force of his desire. He made sounds he would never admit to later. His harms were flung wide, his head twisting as he panted and moaned. Sometimes Blondie bit his penis, chewed it lightly, making Sasuke shriek at the pleasure that bordered on pain. He tried to twist his hips away, but couldn't. Blondie was too strong. He knew the big man did none of what he did to Sasuke in an effort to please him. He did it to satisfy his own curiosity and urges. Sasuke understood this; Blondie wasn't having sex. He was exploring a human body as he'd never been allowed to explore one in his life.

Finally, when Sasuke was sobbing and too weak to even lift a hand, Blondie let his organ go. He lay over Sasuke. He spoke in a gruff whisper that fanned the smell of Sasuke's essence over the Uchiha's face.

"Let me have your mouth, Sasuke. Your tongue."

Sasuke let Blondie kiss him into dizzy senselessness, the taste of his cum lending new dimensions to the act. His arms came around the broad body and held there. Sasuke's legs opened, came up to grasp the hard hips. Naruto's organ brushed his anus and Sasuke jumped. He broke off the kiss. He, too, spoke in a whisper.

"Blondie….do it. I want it."

"What?" Also in a whisper.

"Put it in me."

"You mean my organ?"

A slow nod.

"But that would be gay. You said it was bad, that you didn't want it."

"Well, nobody but us has to know we did it. Just…I need it, I want it, okay?"

"Alright…where do I put it inside you?"

Sasuke shifted, pushing his hand between them to position the huge organ correctly. "Here."

Naruto was aghast. "Not _there?"_

"Yes."

"Are you sure? That can't be right."

"I'm right, just do it."

Sasuke's anal region was still slippery with Naruto's strange saliva. Naruto pushed forward dubiously, hesitantly. He supported himself on his arms as he watched what he was doing. He couldn't possibly fit into Sasuke's body-

Ah. Oh…oh my.

Sasuke let out a long, loud yell as his head tilted back on the blankets, his rectum being stretched and filled. He changed his mind, this wasn't going to work. Blondie was too big, too hard and just too damn much. He wasn't feeling pleasure anymore. His hands pressed against Naruto's stomach trying to stop his forward momentum, but the big man did not stop.

Lust fell like a hazy red curtain over Naruto's mind and he thought no more as he sought more of the tight heat that made his entire body come alive with feelings. He pushed and pushed until he was seated firmly all the way in Sasuke's body. Sasuke twisted and squirmed. Naruto looked down at him with his demonic eyes, saw the pain etched on the white face, heard the yells…and did not care. Instinctively, he withdrew and slid back in. Sasuke stilled, going stiff.

Sasuke was momentarily faint as Blondie's cock brushed something in him that had his entire body screaming in pleasure. He relaxed his stiff body in small degrees, lifting his legs again to cradle Blondie's hips, his hands resting on the arms that supported the big body.

Naruto began thrusting, slowly at first, accustoming himself to this new thing and the way it dragged at his strength and senses with the fierce pleasure it generated. His head hung, watching his flesh enter and exit Sasuke.

Sasuke screamed unreservedly, it was _that good._ Painful, yes. He knew he was bleeding there, but my God it was too good to be believed, too good to be endured. He grabbed at Blondie's arms frantically, not knowing what to do with his hands, his legs squeezing, his wounds tight with the force of the tension in his muscles. A steady stream of milky fluid leaked from Sasuke's cock as that place in him was rubbed and rubbed with each inward and outward stroke. Blondie was so big that the place maintained contact with the sliding organ.

Blondie sped up and Sasuke cried at the way his body jerked, a slave to the big guy's movements. Blondie was screwing the bejesus out of him and Sasuke knew he would willingly prostitute himself to Blondie whenever the man wanted him.

There was nothing but the dark, the pleasure, the pain and Sasuke's high screams. Naruto lowered his body to Sasuke's and the strange, burning, tingling chakra surrounded them both as Naruto increased his pace again. Sasuke held on until it was over.

* * *

Morning again. Sasuke was draped across a broad, muscular back, his cheek pressed to the sticky skin. He opened his eyes and stared at the cockroach that crawled up the far wall in a meandering line.

When his senses woke up with the rest of him, his eyes widened. He inhaled sharply. He glanced along the length of Blondie's body. Sasuke's hand was on the firm round ass. He took stock, looking down at himself.

His wounds didn't hurt. He examined them closely and found that they were mostly healed. He wondered at this before remembering the way Blondie had licked the wounds, how his chakra had been all over Sasuke's body. Sasuke sat up-

And collapsed quickly, bonelessly, biting back the screams that nearly tore loose of his throat. He reached a hand behind himself to gently cup his ass.

He spent a few moments panting into the blanket, trying to swallow the rush of saliva that had come to his mouth at the sharp pain. Okay. Again.

Sasuke eased himself to his hands and knees and rested there, squeezing his eyes shut at the way his ass protested even this small movement. A glance sideways showed Blondie still asleep. Sasuke rocked to the balls of his feet and pushed himself to a crouch. He straightened up and had to catch himself against the wall.

Walking was torture of epic proportions, but he hobbled to the bathroom, shuffling his feet and holding to the wall. His knees threatened to give way at every other step. He made it to the bathroom, reached the toilet and braced his hands on the seat as he eased his ass down on it as gently as was humanly possible.

Sasuke pulled a wad of toilet paper off the roll and held it to his anus, pressing gingerly. It hurt like hell…really, Blondie had almost killed him. It hadn't been so bad while it was happening…well, no, yes it had, but that weird chakra tended to numb pain somewhat and Sasuke hadn't been thinking straight.

He brought the wad of paper to his face and looked at the small dots of blood. Sasuke felt an urge to shit, but shuddered at the thought of how much pain that would cause. He sat glumly on the toilet as he pissed.

Okay, maybe they'd done something wrong. He seemed to remember now that you had to prepare yourself before you actually went ahead and fucked anally. At least that was what he'd overheard. And Blondie had not been anywhere in the vicinity of gentle. That was another no-no. The first time had to be careful. A tear slipped down Sasuke's cheek as he wondered if he'd ever be able to walk again.

He got up, went in the shower and let the warm spray sooth his battered ass. He felt better once he'd remained in the shower for a while. He clenched his ass cheeks rhythmically until the pain faded, then tried clenching his sphincter. That brought him to his knees with pain. He fought against blacking out, but he kept at it until the pain lessened and was tolerable. He very gently massaged his sore hole.

When Sasuke felt human again at last, he switched off the shower. The water had run cold a long time ago. He dried himself with the towel before going to sit on the closed toilet seat. He needed to think.

Him and Blondie. They'd had sex and it had been incredible. Painful, but incredible. Sasuke's neck heated as he considered that the pain had been a large part of the reason it had been incredible.

Why had he consented to lose his virginity last night? He glanced at the bathroom door, making sure it was locked. For some reason he could never indulge in the nitty gritty thoughts, the real deal, if he thought the door might open at any moment.

He was in love with Blondie. It was an ugly emotion to him. Ugly because it was soft and represented everything he hated. Shit, he himself had been soft and completely out of character last night. His eyes closed hard at remembering the sounds he'd made, the way he'd asked for certain touches. He opened his eyes again, staring at the tiled wall two feet from his face.

_Okay, I wanted it. Enjoyed it. Begged for it. That never leaves this room. Neither does the fact that I'm gay._

Okay, that was settled. Personal and settled. What wasn't settled was how this new dimension in his emotional range affected Uchiha Sasuke and his rep.

He coldly considered the fact that he might be losing his edge because of his feelings for Blondie and how much pleasure he derived from what they'd done. No. That could not happen.

It was with great relief that he felt the old violence and hatred rising up in him, blessedly familiar and comforting. He felt that his love for Blondie was encapsulated in a shining bubble that also housed a small portion of his heart. The rest of him seethed and boiled with the black tides of corruption that made up his character. It disturbed him, that bubble of light and love, but he could live with it. He suspected that he and Blondie were joined in some inexplicable way now, anyway, and trying to alter the bubble would not be pleasant; he couldn't be without Blondie now.

Phew! That too, was now settled. He was the same old Sasuke, just as mean and now…now he was mightily pissed off.

See, someone had ordered a hit on him and that someone needed to receive a little lesson on what happened to people who crossed Sasuke like that. Thank fuck Blondie had killed Kakashi or he wouldn't even be here right now. The way he saw it, Sasuke had been given a new lease on life. That meant no more holding back.

-oOo-

The boy who exited the bathroom two hours after he'd entered it was not quite the same one who'd woken up yesterday morning. His near death experience, discovering his love for Blondie and that dastardly night of passion had all come together to produce a more distilled form of the original Sasuke, if that was possible. Not a good thing, if one were to consider it.

Naruto was in the kitchen when Sasuke entered it. Their eyes met over the cup of instant ramen Naruto had to his mouth.

Silence. Motionless, assessing silence.

Naruto thought that if Sasuke followed past behavior and his own words last night, that what they'd done wouldn't be mentioned. He was right. Sasuke dropped his eyes after a moment, looking to the side. Naruto did not mind. He had Sasuke's love and the knowledge that another night in the blankets would surely follow last night.

Sasuke leaned against the door jamb and briefly considered bringing up what had happened between them. He couldn't, and Blondie didn't press. He was grateful. It just wasn't something he could look at and talk about. It was enough that the bubble lived inside him. He got down to business.

"Blondie, you remember what I asked you to do right before you took me to the hospital?"

A nod of the head as noodles were slurped. Naruto chewed, looking at Sasuke unblinkingly.

"Where is it?"

"In your sack."

Sasuke went into the main room and found his sack, smelling horribly, resting pregnantly by the door. He bent down and reached for it. His hand paused as he saw the small pile of new clothes next to his pack. He picked these up instead and examined them.

_Blondie must have gone out while I was in the bathroom and bought them_ , Sasuke thought as he held up the three T-shirts and pants. He pulled them on and saw that they fit perfectly. Sasuke couldn't remember the last time he'd worn new clothes. They felt divine on his sore body. He felt empowered.

He brought his attention back to the pack and hesitated before opening it. Blondie leaned in the kitchen doorway, draining the cup of ramen.

"You searched his pockets like I asked?" Sasuke questioned. He glanced over his shoulder. Naruto nodded at him, digging into the cup with his chopsticks.

"Find anything?"

"Right front pocket on the pack."

Sasuke reached into this pocket and withdrew an unmarked envelope. It was blood-stained, slightly damp with the red fluid, but the contents were hardly marked at all. Sasuke let the ten thousand ryou spill onto the floor in front of him. He looked at it grimly, his eyes flashing red before returning to black.

Naruto drifted closer, belching into his fist. "What is that money for?"

"That, my friend, was the price of my murder." Sasuke fingered the bills, thoughtfully. It brought the fact that he'd almost died home to him in a new way. "Kakashi was paid to kill me by Akimichi."

Naruto's eyes shot to Sasuke's face. He growled. "The boy we robbed? He is responsible for all of this?"

"That depends on who you ask. No doubt some goody two-shoes would say I was responsible because I'd attacked him first. I like your interpretation better, though."

"He dies today," Naruto said as he went to his closet. Sasuke watched him remove a shirt and realized for the first time that Blondie only had on a pair of jeans that sat low on his hips. His big, broad feet were bare.

"You sure about that, Blondie?" Sasuke was intrigued. "Aside from killing Kakashi, I didn't figure you for the murdering type."

Naruto had the shirt on and was pulling on old sneakers. "You are mine, Sasuke. I will not allow what's mine to be endangered."

Sasuke's brows shot into his bangs as he stood up, holding a hand up to Blondie as the big guy moved toward the door.

"W-w-wait just a second. I'm _yours?!_ What the shit does that mean?" His voice was high with indignation.

Naruto stepped close to him and backed Sasuke up to the wall without even touching him. Sasuke looked up at the intent blue eyes. When Naruto wasn't hunched over Sasuke realized the guy had to be 6'4" if he was an inch. Sasuke hovered at just barely 6' even.

"It means you belong to me. I know not to discuss what we did last night but you are marked. You're mine. You accept me, love me, _want me._ I claim you. Nobody hurts what is mine."

Sasuke winced as the last word was said around fangs and a tongue that licked Naruto's chops avidly. The dude got off on violence when he was in demon form, Sasuke observed. He didn't dare contradict any of what was said, but his hand went to the teeth marks he'd seen on his ass in the bathroom. All Sasuke could do was cower against the wall as Naruto hunkered over him, waiting to be challenged. When Naruto received no protests, he turned and yanked the door open. Sasuke let out a breath.

Well. At least they were on the same page as far as Akimichi was concerned. But shit! Blondie was fucking scary. He grabbed his pack, shoving the money inside as he followed Blondie out of the apartment.

* * *

 

Once in the street, Sasuke had to jog to keep up with Naruto's ground-eating strides. "Hey, Blondie, wait…where are you going?"

"To that restaurant. To find him."

"Okay, can you just wait a minute and listen to what I have to say?"

Naruto stopped abruptly, causing Sasuke to crash into his back. Sasuke hurriedly went around Naruto, grabbed his meaty arm and pulled him to the side of the road where they could speak in private.

"First of all, it's Saturday. None of the Akimichis will be at the restaurants today. Second, if you kill him, and I really want to see him dead, we won't be getting our weekly payday."

"He tried to kill you. That can't be forgiven." Naruto's voice was like an animal's as his eyes reddened. Sasuke held up placating hands.

"I know. I know. Believe me, no one wants him dead more than I do but this needs to be _used._ Manipulated, tweaked, so that it works for us _and_ he gets the picture that he can't do anything like this again. Do you understand?"

Naruto was listening. "Will we kill him in the end?"

"It might come to that. But not yet."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Saturday all the noble's kids go to the public bath house. Nobody ever dares to interrupt. I think we should pay Chouji a visit there and kill several birds with one stone by introducing ourselves to the rest of our marks." Sasuke grinned in a way that did not express mirth.

Naruto quirked a corner of his mouth is response, sensing a potential for great carnage in that smile.

* * *

Kiba was the first to become aware of the commotion outside. He heard his guard engage someone in battle. He picked his head up from between Hinata's thighs as his other bath mates became aware of the noise themselves. Neji, who'd been kissing Hinata deeply, was the last of the boys to turn his dark head to the noise outside the bath house doors.

These doors were opened and a slim youth carrying a bloody sack entered ahead of a large blond boy they all recognized. They looked at this development in their boring lives with interest.

Sasuke paused at seeing all the naked bodies. Most of the boys were grouped around the Hyuuga girl, but that bug freak Shino was reclining next to Kiba's sister, his fingers in her pussy. Naruto came up beside him and Sasuke felt better with Blondie next to him. He handed Naruto the pack.

No one spoke as eyes passed from person to person, intruders taking in the scene and nobles liking the way the demon's body stretched his shirt and pants.

"Right," Sasuke said loudly. His voice echoed off the tiled walls. The individuals in the large sunken octagon of shallow water stirred at the sound. "I have a complaint to file with Chouji there."

Chouji had been letting Shikamaru probe his ass with knowledgeable fingers when the two had walked in. His sphincter had immediately tightened at seeing his attackers and now Shikamaru worked at pulling his fingers out when Sasuke pointed at the fat boy. Chouji's ass had become a vise.

"It's like this," Sasuke began as he paced around the lip of the large tub, "Chouji hired Kakashi to kill me because of a misunderstanding. That didn't end well." Sasuke gestured to Naruto.

Naruto unzipped the pack he carried and withdrew Kakashi's head. It was grisly, decaying and juicy with fluids and soft matter that was best left unmentioned. Every eye of the nobles was fixed on this sight as Naruto lobbed it into the tub towards Chouji. That boy screeched, the noise echoing off the walls and ceiling as he scuttled backward in the water. His frantic motions made waves. His friends looked at him, at the head, then at Naruto. Their attention was caught.

"If I might ask," Shikamaru drawled when the echoes had died down. "What was the misunderstanding?"

Sasuke turned to him with an expression as if a prized student had asked an intelligent question. "The misunderstanding was that Chouji was supposed to let himself be blackmailed peacefully instead of trying to have me killed."

No one said a word as they digested this.

"But now," Sasuke continued in ringing tones, "He'll pay dearly for his actions. And actually, I might as well inform you that I'm coming after all of you. Blondie here is my new friend and no one to mess with. Let's just say that Kakashi learned that fact up close and personal like." He gestured to where the head bobbed in the decreasing waves. The nobles stared at it thoughtfully.

Neji spoke at last. "You're crazy. You won't dare take us on. We're not idiots to be blackmailed like that douche Chouji. Send your demon after us and he'll get hurt. I promise it." He smiled lazily, his white eyes on Sasuke's face as he cupped Hinata's pussy and lowered his mouth to her breast. Hinata groaned and leaned her head back against Neji's arm, watching Naruto.

Sasuke saw the look and an idea came to him. One that he didn't mention just then. Instead he said, "Watch your backs. It's on." He turned and left the bath house.

Naruto stood studying Kiba a moment longer. Kiba, too, watched the demon warily. Their canine senses quivered, the hairs on the backs of their necks rising as they both issued low growls. The other occupants of the tub watched this exchange curiously.

Sasuke came back inside, latched onto Naruto's arm, and dragged him out of there. The nobles watched the door swing shut behind them. Conversation broke out among them, Chouji forgotten in a corner as his weeping echoed in the room.

"He's dangerous," Shino said calmly. Hana turned and lowered her tall body onto his waiting cock. Water lapped at her hips as she rode him slowly.

"I hope he comes after us," Neji said as he released Hinata's pussy so that Kiba could suck it. "I want that wretch Sasuke under me."

"I was talking about the demon," Shino panted.

"Ahhhh, Kiba! I want the demon. He's hung, you can tell. I wonder if he can even fit into my pussy." Hinata's voice was breathy with lust.

"I'd like to see that," Neji murmured against her mouth. He kissed her as her body jerked through an orgasm.

"Is any of us taking their threat seriously?" Shikamaru wanted to know. He went to examine the head in the water before making his way to where Chouji cringed.

"Please," Hana said. She paused as her own orgasm had her shrieking. They all waited. She continued when she'd caught her breath. "They can't take us all on, even with that demon."

Shino adjusted his glasses. "We've never seen his powers. I hear they are fearsome. We should be cautious."

"He did kill Kakashi. That was a superb ninja." Kiba, done with Hinata for the moment, nodded at the head. "Me, I don't like the smell of that demon. Shino's right, he's dangerous. We should be on our guard."

"We should seduce him. Both of them," Hinata said. She turned and let Neji enter her ass as Shikamaru placed his dick in her mouth, forcing her to deep throat him.

"That's a great idea, Hinata," Hana enthused. "First we seduce them, then we kill them."

"So it's a plan then?" Shino wanted the matter settled. Kiba was coming toward him. He spread his legs in anticipation.

"Yeah," Neji groaned. "That'll work."

Agreed, they all got down to the more important business of pleasuring themselves.


	6. Chapter 6

Sasuke led the way back to the apartment. Naruto tossed the key to Sasuke as they made their way up the stairs. Sasuke opened the door, left the key in the lock and went to the kitchen. Naruto retrieved his key on his way into his place.

Naruto sat on the floor, meditating while Sasuke first ate, then paced up and down in front of him. This went on for over an hour.

"Jesus fucking Christ, how long are you going to be doing that shit? We got things to discuss, Buddha, hurry it up."

Naruto remained in serene silence.

Sasuke decided to just get on with it.

"I still say we hit the Naras next. Fuck, did you see Shikamaru today? Smug asshole, that's what he is. What we need," Sasuke said thoughtfully as he paced, "is something that they value dearly. That has to be our strategy for all the nobles. I know for the Hyuugas it's pride and that bitch-in-heat Hinata. For the Inuzukas it might be loyalty or some shit like that. Nothing tangible, like the Akimichis. That fat family are nothing but gluttons for everything. The Naras…what's most important to them?" Sasuke scratched at his stitches as he spoke to himself.

"What was the most important thing to your family?" Naruto asked without opening his eyes.

Sasuke stilled ominously. "What did you say?"

"I said-"

"I know what you fucking said! I meant why the fuck are you asking?!"

"Obviously, because I want to know. That's usually why one asks a question, in order to know the answer."

"You _son_ of a _bitch_!" Sasuke threw a kick at Naruto's head. His leg was caught, held, while a short jab tapped his midsection. Sasuke fell to the floor, feeling as if he'd hurl at any second. He gasped weakly.

When was he going to learn that trying to hit Blondie always led to pain? Hell.

"What," Naruto asked in that serene voice that had Sasuke gritting his teeth, "did you take offense to?" Naruto opened his eyes at last, coming out of his meditation with a deep breath. "You are a noble, aren't you? What did your family-"

"If you don't shut up, _right now,_ I will leave and you will _never_ see me again. I will avoid you like the plague. Do it. Mention my life again, my past, or any other shit you _think_ you know and I'm gone. Poof," Sasuke flicked his fingers in the air. "Just like that."

Naruto stared at Sasuke's face. The expression was one of cold blankness, a striking contrast to the normally animated cast his features had.

So this subject was still off limits. Alright. Naruto was a patient person. He would have the answers he sought in time, he would see to it. In the meantime…

"Very well. I'm sorry."

Sasuke snorted. "Where'd you hear that junk, anyway?"

"It doesn't matter."

Sasuke continued to glare at Naruto for several seconds. "Okay, I've got it."

Naruto stood up and stretched, waiting for Sasuke to continue.

"That damn deer forest or their stupid book of medical remedies. Either one is really important to the Naras. I'm thinking the book will be easier to go after, but the forest will piss them off more. So here's how it's going to go down."

Sasuke outlined the plan while Naruto retrieved a white paper bag and handed it to Sasuke. Naruto asked him to take his pills and use the ointment.

"Your plan sounds like it will require us to attack two locations simultaneously," Naruto said as Sasuke dug into the bag.

Sasuke swallowed one of the blood replenishing pills and grimaced. "Yup."

"And have you devised a way to outsmart them?"

"I'm thinking we can't. But we can overpower them. Well, you can. Which is why you'll be going after the book."

Naruto looked at Sasuke. "Tell me, what happens when the nobles go to the council and the Hokage about me?"

Sasuke was brought up short. He stopped pacing to look at Blondie in surprise. "Are you kidding? They're too stuck up and full of themselves to do that. They'll never admit they've been had by a thug like me and you of all people. Please." Sasuke looked Naruto up and down from the corner of his eyes as if the taller boy had suddenly said he was from another planet.

Naruto decided he would wait to see what happened. He looked at Sasuke eating more pills. He had a quick, rabbity way of chewing. The blue eyes ran over the lean body, remembering the pliant way the limbs had wrapped around him. The way the body smelled, the tastes of the body's different secret places.

A low purr rumbled in his chest as Naruto felt his organ growing hard.

The shiny mop of black hair recalled to Naruto its softness, the springy texture of it. Sasuke went to lean his palms on the windowsill as he stared out at the village. This put his buttocks in a very interesting position. Naruto walked over and stood silently behind Sasuke.

"Hey, did you notice-" Sasuke turned and collided with the broad chest. Naruto's arm came around to hold him in place against his body. Sasuke stared up at the hooded blue eyes, feeling the bold erection against his stomach.

"Wh-what are y-you do-" Sasuke's mouth was captured by those strong full lips. Blondie's mouth was very warm.

Naruto felt Sasuke begin to sag against him, then he stiffened. Sasuke twisted his head away and freed himself from Naruto's arms with an effort that had him hissing as he pulled some stitches.

Sasuke backed up, wiping his mouth with a shaky hand. He glared at Naruto, who stared back in confusion. Then the blond understood: it wasn't night and they weren't in the blankets. How could he have forgotten?

"I'm sorry," Naruto said. "I guess when I saw the nobles touching during the day I thought it would be alright for us to-"

"To what?" Sasuke said aggressively. The black eyes were slits.

"To have gay sex," Naruto finished. His eyes said he was not ashamed in the slightest.

" _What the_ -" Sasuke spluttered for a few seconds, his eyes bulging. He seemed to be choking on his tongue as Naruto watched.

Sasuke had to turn away from those direct eyes. Okay. Better. He could think when he wasn't looking at Blondie. He said his next words forcefully, keeping his eyes shut and his back turned.

"We didn't have gay sex. We didn't have any kind of sex. We didn't do anything, do you understand me?!"

"Yes, we d-"

"Shut your fat mouth! We did _nothing._ Nothing!"

Naruto didn't understand. Sasuke's shoulders were hunched, as if waiting for a blow. Naruto remained silent, waiting for enlightenment from Sasuke. None came.

Sasuke heard no further arguments and turned around slowly. It took a few tries, but he was finally able to look at Blondie's face. It was puzzled. Sasuke took a deep breath, firmly putting the episode behind him. That had been close. What they'd done was not something that could be pulled out in the light of day. Jesus. Okay.

Naruto had formed an opinion on Sasuke's character during the past few minutes. Sasuke, Naruto decided, was two people. The person he was during the day was violent, short-tempered, hard, confident, self-reliant. The person he was at night was needy, insecure, tactile, soft, open and giving. The daytime Sasuke seemed incapable of acknowledging nighttime Sasuke's activities. Naruto found this interesting.

"I'm glad you brought up the nobles and their sexual perversion, actually," Sasuke said now. He seemed fully recovered from whatever had gripped him a moment ago.

Naruto listened.

"You saw what they were doing?" Sasuke asked. He kept his distance from Blondie.

"I did. Was that normal sex?"

"Yeah, it was. You got a problem trying it out?"

"What do you mean," Naruto asked carefully. His eyes narrowed a bit.

"I mean," Sasuke said just as cautiously, "getting that bitch Hinata alone for a few days. Taking her will seriously fuck all of them up but especially Neji and Kiba. On the plus side, I'm thinking once she's had a taste of you she won't be able to go back to those two again. It's perfect."

"Have sex with her? Touch her as I touch you?" Naruto caught his slip too late. Sasuke's face whitened until Naruto thought the boy would faint. Sasuke spoke after a minute.

"Yes, have sex with her."

"I see. Will I be having sex with Neji and Kiba as well?"

Sasuke felt sick at the thought. Blondie fucking some girl was fine with him, but not some other guy. Blondie was his. _I didn't just think that._ "Uh…no. We'll deal with them another way if doing Hinata doesn't get to them. So you're cool with it?"

Naruto considered it. He rather liked having gay sex with Sasuke. It made his love for him stronger, sharper in some way. He felt…closer…to Sasuke when he was doing the blanket activities. He wondered if he would feel those things if he had sex with another. Maybe he wouldn't since he didn't love this Hinata. A thought occurred to him.

"Why don't you have sex with Hinata yourself? Wouldn't that also be effective?"

Sasuke was going to have a heart attack, he was sure of it. The jackass just kept on mentioning things that shouldn't be even thought about. "No," he managed.

"Why? You seem to take offense to gay sex, so the normal sex should be more palatable to you, correct?"

Sasuke turned away from Blondie, pacing as he grabbed his hair for patience. He clenched his jaw until it hurt.

"Blondie," Sasuke turned to him finally, forcing himself to look into those direct blue eyes. "I can't. Okay? It's sick, gross, I just can't. And anyway, she wasn't looking at me. She wants you, I can tell."

"Why would she want me?"

Sasuke couldn't get into it just then. He felt drained and tired all of a sudden and Blondie's dense bullshit required too much energy to deal with. He waved a hand dismissively at the guy as he went to the closet and pulled out the blankets.

Naruto watched as Sasuke arranged them differently, rolling himself in all of them and balling the sheet up as a pillow. Just before Sasuke dropped off to sleep Naruto heard him say, "We really need a bed."

Naruto wondered if he'd be able to get in the blankets too so that they could have gay sex. Then he remembered that it wasn't night time. He sighed. Naruto left the apartment to go train.

* * *

The bath crew were gathered at Shikamaru's place. Chouji was not present. He was recovering from that morning's ordeal in the confines of his home.

"I say we end this now," Kiba said. He dug into his steak with gusto.

"What, try and seduce them now? I thought you were for waiting?" Shino asked. He ate his salad delicately, the precise movements at odds with his muscular body.

"Well, at least track him down and monitor his movements," Kiba answered.

"I agree," Neji said abruptly. He stirred his mango and peach smoothie with a long finger before offering the digit to Hinata. "I want this over with."

"Excellent," Kiba said. "Let's head out after lunch."

They all agreed. Neji poured the remainder of his smoothie over Hinata's naked body and began licking it up.

* * *

Naruto didn't sense anyone near his particular section of the training grounds. It led into the woods he preferred using. He made his way amongst the trees until he reached a largish clearing dotted with tree stumps. He'd knocked down the trees himself some time ago. He called up his chakra and began the first set of katas to his training. He had quite a bit of pent up energy, not having trained for the past few days.

A few other trees were soon falling as Naruto used his strength.

* * *

The nobles traveled in a group, following Akamaru's nose. The big dog was groomed and brushed to within an inch of his life. He stepped delicately through the filth-strewn streets they now walked, stopping at a rundown apartment building.

"Is this where he lives?" Shikamaru asked. His eyes followed two rats fighting over a piece of meat.

Kiba sniffed. "Maybe. His scent is here, though he himself isn't. Sasuke is, though. Akamaru, find where the demon bastard is right now."

The dog woofed softly as he lowered his nose to the ground. He sniffed in a circle before trotting along the street. The nobles, holding their rich kimonos out of the garbage laden road, hastened to follow.

They didn't want their parents asking where they were going or they would have brought kagos. Perhaps they should have anyway. People were starting to notice them, pointing and whispering among themselves; the nobles were never seen in this part of the village. Hana's Haimaru Sankyodai growled and snapped at the passing villagers brazen enough to stare for too long.

They were led to the training grounds and then beyond, into the woods where sounds of destruction could be heard. They stopped a few hundred yards from a clearing where the demon was currently ripping apart a tree with his bare hands. They all crouched behind another fallen tree as they watched in awe.

* * *

Naruto's mind always went away when he trained. He would think of nothing in particular as his body moved through the familiar, routine movements. At the end of his training he sometimes indulged his strength, something he rarely got to use fully. This was one of those times; the recent kill and the night with Sasuke had his bloodlust running high. He didn't usually go Kyuubi while training, but he did this time, a little. Only as far as claws and fangs. Kyuubi chakra didn't leak out of him, his mind was still his own, but he hovered at the brink. He just had so much accumulated energy that he felt he'd go completely Kyuubi, tails and everything, if he didn't use some of it up.

So he wasn't immediately aware of his visitors when they took up their positions at a safe distance. He was in the process of smashing a tree to kindling. He next tackled one of the tree stumps. He plunged his hands into the earth and took hold of the thick roots. He pulled these up with a grunt, his shirtless torso straining as his muscles bunched and rippled with the effort.

-oOo-

Sweat beaded the brows of every male noble watching. The two females experienced moisture in a different location, but it all meant the same thing: Each and every one of them wanted Naruto, and not to drink tea with, either.

-oOo-

Naruto heaved the uprooted stump as far as he could. It sailed over the tree tops, turning lazily in the air, dirt clods flying in all directions. Naruto idly rubbed his fingers together as he felt the dirt on his own hands. It was then that he became aware of the chakra sources not too far away. He recognized them from this morning. He looked over his shoulder in their direction, his sharp eyes making out a faint glint from someone's sunglasses.

-oOo-

Kiba licked his lips. They were salty with sweat. "Right," he whispered. "I think Hinata should be the one to approach him. Maybe he'll fall for her. She can get him good and tired. Then, when he's basking in the afterglow, we can attack."

"I don't know…" Neji hesitated.

"I personally don't think she can handle him," Hana said quietly. She had a hand inside her kimono, massaging her clit languidly.

"Please," Kiba said, "Nobody's got an appetite like our Hinata. She'll take him and leave him in a coma."

"I will do this for our cause," Hinata said virtuously, a fist raised beside her jaw. Her nipples were erect, visible through her light gray kimono.

"He's looking this way," Shino announced. "I think he knows we're here."

"Go on, Hinata," Shikamaru nudged her. Hinata stood up.

-oOo-

Naruto turned to fully face the direction his visitors were in when he saw one of them stand up. As the individual drew closer, he recognized the very girl he and Sasuke had been discussing. She slinked her way towards Naruto, keeping her lilac eyes fixed on his face as her legs flashed between the opening of her kimono. She stopped when she was right in front of him. Naruto looked down at her without expression.

Hinata trembled in excitement. He was just so _big._ Bigger than Shino's 6' 2" and even more built than the Aburame. The sparse hair on the demon's chest intrigued her. All the noble males waxed their bodies hairless. She reached out a hand to touch the blond hairs lightly.

Naruto did not flinch at the touch, though it felt strange. Sasuke touched him lightly, too, but this was a female. He wasn't particularly interested in her or why she and the nobles had decided to track him here. A large part of him wasn't even present, still focused on training as he was. He did remember Sasuke's words of her wanting him, though. He didn't believe that for a second, hardly knew what 'want' meant in Sasuke's context.

Sasuke. Sasuke was hurt and sleeping it off. Hurt because of these people. Sasuke's plan was for him to have sex with these people. He'd told Naruto that it would anger them in some way. Naruto didn't fully understand it but he wanted to help Sasuke and he wanted to hurt these people. If having sex accomplished both tasks then so be it. He would kill the fat one at a later time.

Naruto saw the girl, Hinata, begin smiling as her touch grew bolder. He felt her hand slide up his chest. Could Sasuke be right?

"Do you want me?" Naruto asked impassively.

Hinata felt her knees buckle at the deep, musical voice that asked such a macho question. She had a minor orgasm as those eyes continued to stare at her, waiting for her to speak. "Oh, yes," she said throatily. "I want you a whole l-"

She screamed as her kimono was ripped from her and dropped on the ground. Naruto grabbed her around the waste and lifted her high above his head. Hinata watched as he got one hand beneath one of her floundering thighs and held her legs apart, apparently examining her privates. He frowned slightly.

-oOo-

"Jesus, what is he doing?" Shikamaru hissed in consternation.

-oOo-

Naruto examined the strange parts before him. He saw the opening he'd used with Sasuke and he saw another, wetter opening. Konohamaru had said sex with a girl was different from sex with a man so this, then, must be the opening he would need to use. He lowered the girl and positioned her legs around his waist, holding her there with a hand as he tried to undo his jeans enough to free his organ. Hinata held onto his neck, making seeing what he was doing difficult. He shoved her off of him, to the ground. He finally managed to unzip his pants and take out his organ.

He wasn't hard. Naruto considered this as he held his flesh. He'd never performed the act in this state. Could it be done? What had he done before that made his organ hard? He thought as he looked at the naked girl who scrambled to stand up.

Touching. Sasuke touching him. "Touch me," he barked at the girl. She hurried to obey.

Hinata was almost faint with desire. None of her boys ever got so rough with her, it was damned exciting. She saw his dilemma, heard his command, and knew what was needed. She knelt in front of him and attempted to take him into her mouth.

Naruto hissed in air through his nose at this. Then his organ was engulfed in wet heat and his hand closed in her hair tightly. He wasn't sure if he liked it, though he'd done it to Sasuke. In any case, it worked. His flesh was hard within seconds. He hauled her to her feet by her arms, then tossed her, catching her around his waist again.

Hinata was just leaning in for a kiss when she was slammed down on the hard cock that had stretched her jaws. His aim was off, stabbing to the right of her pussy painfully. She squealed, reaching between them to position him correctly. He pushed her down again and this time she screamed for real as she was stretched to the breaking point. Her head fell back as Naruto forced himself all the way in.

Sasuke had made these sounds when they'd had sex, so Naruto paid it no mind. Besides, he was busy cataloging the ways in which normal sex was different from gay sex. He was relieved to discover that no feelings of closeness crept up on him during the act. Mostly, he was bored. He hoped this plan of Sasuke's worked. He watched Hinata's chest bounce wildly with a vacant look on his face.

-oOo-

"Wow, look at him go," Kiba said in admiration. They all watched as Naruto rammed Hinata down onto his cock repeatedly, holding her small waist in his big hands. Hinata's screams sent woodland animals running for cover, but Naruto didn't stop.

-oOo-

Hinata was dying. She'd cum almost constantly since he'd begun fucking her. She couldn't hold out much longer, her limbs were shaking, and she was dizzy from cumming so much. He was so hard and strong and forceful! Oh, god, she was cumming again…

Naruto stopped when the girl fainted in his arms. He let go of her, watching as she fell off of his organ to crumple on the forest floor.

-oOo-

"Uh, right," Neji said nervously. "Shino, you take him."

"What!" Shino yelped. "Why me?"

"That's obvious," Shikamaru said, eying the demon as he nudged Hinata with a foot. "You're the biggest and strongest out of us physically. If anyone can handle him, it's you."

"Yeah, go on," Kiba gave Shino a pinch with his sharp, clawed fingers and Shino stood up reflexively. The demon swung his head towards him. Shino swallowed.

-oOo-

Naruto was wondering if he'd gotten the job done when the big, bespectacled one among them stood up from behind the tree they seemed to be using for cover. He stumbled climbing over the tree before coming slowly towards Naruto.

It dawned on the blond that perhaps the nobles had had the same idea that Sasuke had come up with: have sex with the enemy in order to hurt them in some way. Naruto could not see how this plan was supposed to work, but Sasuke's ideas hadn't failed so far. The plan must have merit if the nobles had come up with it, too. It fell to him, Naruto, to see that he and Sasuke won, then. Naruto squared his shoulders, determined to acquit himself well in Sasuke's absence.

Shino stopped some distance from him. Naruto, wanting this over with so he could tell Sasuke they had prevailed, strode up to him. Shino didn't back down, but it was a near thing.

-oOo-

Neji, Kiba, Shikamaru, and Hana watched as Naruto grabbed Shino's kimono and attempted to take it from him. Shino put up a fight.

-oOo-

Naruto grunted, having to exert some force to pry the boy's hands off of his wrists. The boy was well-formed, almost Naruto's build. Almost, but not quite. Naruto remembered Sasuke saying this was the bug freak, Shino. Shino let go of one of Naruto's wrists to throw a punch to the blond's jaw that had him staggering.

Shino released his Kikai, deciding to skip the seduction part of today's business and get right to the killing.

Naruto, shaking his head, saw the cloud of insects coming toward him and released Kyuubi chakra so that it surrounded his entire body. The bugs entered this protective shield and promptly withered and died. Shino yelled and ran at him.

-oOo-

"Never mess with the bugs," Kiba whispered. The others nodded solemnly.

-oOo-

Naruto caught Shino as he leapt at him. The boy's heavy weight carried them both to the forest floor. They grunted, each trying to get a hold on the other. Shino's kimono was finally ripped from his back as Naruto dug his claws into the skin there, raking his hand downward. Shino plowed his fists into Naruto's face, his strong legs holding onto the demon as Naruto tried to buck the enraged Aburame off of him.

Shino was slammed onto his back as Naruto flipped. He was held down with a hand to his throat as Naruto grabbed Shino's cock and squeezed. Shino went still.

Naruto rested his head on the boy's shoulder, catching his breath for a moment. He'd never gone up against anyone who ever came so close in strength. He didn't want to go Kyuubi, he never did that unless he had to. Losing control when he'd killed Kakashi had been a different matter entirely.

Shino sounded as if he were winded as well. Naruto picked his head up as he felt the organ in his hand stiffening. He used his other hand to snatch the glasses from the panting face, annoyed that they'd remained intact. He crushed them in his fist as he took in Shino's eyes.

They were the color of rain, a light, misty gray. Shino took advantage of Naruto's brief distraction to ram his knee into Naruto's balls. Naruto made not a sound as he brought his fist down again and again on Shino's face. Shino went limp.

-oOo-

"Damn," Neji breathed.

-oOo-

Naruto lifted Shino's legs and prepared to put his organ, still hard, inside him.

Shino came back to himself at the tearing pain of being penetrated dry. He tried to buck Naruto off of him, roaring, kicking his legs and beating the heavy shoulders. Naruto didn't budge. Shino pressed against his chest, really putting all of his upper body strength behind it. Naruto countered by latching onto Shino's shoulders and pulling himself downward. For a few tense moments they seemed evenly matched, their muscles straining, sweat coating them liberally. Naruto gave a hard shove of his hips, though, and Shino gasped as the demon slid all the way in, filling him completely. Then Shino's hands stopped pushing and Naruto knew he'd temporarily won.

-oOo-

"Disgusting," Kiba said as he watched Shino being taken. "We might have to go at him together, Neji."

Neji nodded, his hand over his open mouth. His eyes never left the scene in the clearing. He'd never known Shino's deep, quiet voice could go so high.

Shikamaru was nowhere to be found. He'd left after seeing Shino beaten. Hana watched in fascination, wondering if she dared try her luck.

-oOo-

Naruto panted in effort. The big kid beneath him kept fighting him, making him work to maintain his position on him. Finally, after what seemed forever, after Naruto was dripping with sweat and nearly cross-eyed from exertion, Shino finished as Sasuke had done many times last night. Shino's limbs collapsed from around Naruto and the blond stood up shakily. He himself hadn't finished as he'd done with Sasuke, but he found that he didn't want to. He didn't want these people the way he wanted Sasuke. Still hard, he turned and walked as steadily as he could toward where the rest of them hid.

Hana stood and ran, her dogs following at her heels. Kiba paused at seeing his sister run, then decided that if Shino had lost, so would he. He jumped on Akamaru and the animal ran madly from the approaching blond. Neji was left alone. He stood as Naruto stopped on the other side of the fallen tree.

Neji took in the ripped jeans, the stiff cock, the mighty, sweaty torso and hiked up his kimono to turn and run after Kiba. "This isn't settled!" he tossed over his shoulder. Naruto watched the dwindling figures. Crunching twigs behind him had Naruto turning in time to see Shino staggering past with Hinata slung over his shoulders. Shino's black eye was shiny as he glared at Naruto before he broke into a wobbly trot.

Naruto sat heavily on the fallen tree to try and regain his bearings.

* * *

Sasuke woke up sometime during late afternoon. His head ached. He sat up, sweating, feeling lightheaded and very thirsty. He walked to the kitchen, got a glass of water, then picked up the bag of meds that was on the floor. He sat back on the blankets and dumped the contents into his lap.

Blood replenishing pills. Ointment. Pain medication. _Antibiotics._ Those were the ones he'd missed taking. He read the label and took one now. Then he took a pain killer. He waited. After thirty minutes he began feeling better. Probably the dope, Sasuke thought. He fell back against the blankets and wondered where Blondie was. How long had he been asleep?

Sasuke remembered what they'd been discussing earlier. Maybe his plan for Blondie to try luring the Hyuuga girl away from her family wasn't such a good idea after all. Now that he'd rested he could see all sorts of problems with that plan. Chief among them was the fact that he would no longer be Blondie's sole experience with sex. Sasuke found that he suddenly wanted that to stay the same. As soon as Blondie came back he would tell him that they could scratch the sex plan and continue with the plan to fuck up the Naras instead.

-oOo-

Naruto got home just after sunset. He'd sat on the fallen tree for awhile before he'd walked slowly home, thinking about all that the day had contained. On reflection, he found that sex with other people was nothing like sex with Sasuke. Instead it had been a chore. He hoped Sasuke appreciated his proactive approach to their partnership. Naruto's steps perked up as he neared his home; it was almost night. Perhaps Sasuke was still in the blankets.

He opened his door eagerly, though quietly in case Sasuke really was still in the blankets. Naruto shut the door softly as he saw Sasuke sitting on the floor near the folded bedding. He swallowed his disappointment.

"Where've you been," Sasuke asked.

"I was out training, when the nobles paid me a visit." Naruto came and sat next to Sasuke. They were both under the window, backs to the wall, legs outstretched and crossed. Naruto felt good sitting next to Sasuke, like something had been gone from him and was now returned.

"What!" Sasuke turned to Naruto eagerly. "They ambushed you?! What happened, did you go all demon on them? Are they…Jesus, are they _dead?"_ Sasuke finished in a whisper. He was on his hands and knees, facing Naruto with wide eyes, his mouth open in delight.

Naruto looked at Sasuke's expressive features, feeling his heart contract at their attractiveness. "No, they're alive. It seems they had the same idea you had about combating with sex. Do not worry, I didn't shame us. I believe I won the first round since they ran from me at the end. Will it fall to us to initiate the next rou-"

Naruto stopped speaking as Sasuke backed away from him slowly, standing up and backing away further. His eyes were large in his white face.

"What…what did you do? What happened? Sex?" Sasuke's voice was cold. Naruto sat where he was as he explained how Hinata had approached him and confirmed that she'd wanted him. He told how he'd had sex with her until she'd fainted and then the one called Shino had approached him next. Sasuke listened, shaking his head slowly from side to side as Naruto went into detail at the fight Shino had put up. Naruto finished by assuring Sasuke that he, Naruto, had been victorious.

Sasuke could not remember ever feeling so betrayed. He felt sick with fury. It didn't matter that it had been Sasuke's idea, he'd never really expected it to happen. Shit, they'd only been in the planning stages of that idea and Blondie had gone out and cheated on him!

"How could you," Sasuke's voice shook. Naruto stood up at hearing it, at the look of disgust on Sasuke's face.

"What do you mean? Isn't this what you wanted? It was your plan, I executed it for you while you were feeling unwell, I don't see-"

"That's right," Sasuke screamed in rage. "You never see anything, you're too stupid to see what's right in front your big ugly face!" Spit sprayed from Sasuke's lips. "Did you enjoy it? Did you? Did you suck Shino's dick like you sucked mine, you filthy, whoring son of a-"

"No I didn't. But Hinata performed that service for me when-"

Naruto turned his head aside to avoid the small lightning bolt that streaked past his face.

_"I hate you,"_ Sasuke ranted. _"I hate you and wish you were dead!"_

Naruto closed the distance between them and grabbed Sasuke's flailing hands in one of his as he held the struggling boy to his chest. He wrapped his arms around Sasuke as he lowered his mouth to Sasuke ear so he could be heard.

"I did what you wanted me to, why are you angry? Don't hate me, Sasuke, please, not you, too."

"I do hate you! You went behind my back, you cheated on me, I hope you die!" Sasuke kicked his legs futilely against Naruto's shins, bucking his body to try and break Naruto's steely grip on him.

Naruto released him. Sasuke fell to the floor. Naruto looked at down him, hurt beyond expression at Sasuke's words.

"You are insane," Naruto said quietly. "You deny what we did last night, though you sought it eagerly. You ignore what is between us, even as you take our intimacy to new depths. You tell me to have sex with another and then hate me for doing so. You are a coward. You cannot even face who you are. Leave," Naruto gestured to his door. "I knew it was too much to expect that you really wanted me. Get out."

Sasuke half sat, half lay on the floor, looking up at Blondie from where he'd fallen. He hadn't expected Blondie to react like that. He'd expected Blondie to let him have his fit, then spend time comforting him, reassuring him that Sasuke was the only one he wanted. Then, Sasuke had surmised even as he'd been yelling, they would engage in a hot, steamy round of amazing sex. Sasuke wanted that though he was hurt badly at what Blondie had done.

But Blondie was kicking him out again. How could Sasuke say that he hadn't meant his words? Well he had meant them, when he was saying them, but that was then. In the past, finished, albeit only five seconds ago. He stood up as Naruto turned his back on him.

Naruto spent the next few seconds castigating himself for ever entering into this partnership. He should have known better, should never have risked getting close to someone. The villagers kept their distance from him, but he, Naruto, also kept his distance from them. He didn't want to see their looks of revulsion, of disgust. Of indifference. He kept his mind far away from his lonely life for a reason.

When he'd been small, before he'd built up his defenses, the lack of affection and attention had hurt him. A lot. He didn't want to feel those things again. He'd thought he could be with Sasuke, but he was wrong. Sasuke didn't want anything to do with him.

Sasuke tried to backtrack. "Blondie," He reached a hand toward the broad back. He yanked it away again as Naruto turned to him, eyes red, fangs bared. Those wicked teeth dripped as Naruto shouted.

"GET OUT! AND STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

Sasuke picked up his pack and left the apartment hurriedly. He shut the door hard behind himself. Naruto flinched at the sound.

Naruto seriously thought about wrenching the door open and going after Sasuke. He thought about it for a full minute, his body leaning towards the door.

Sasuke considered going back in and apologizing. He'd reacted badly, Blondie had been trying to help, doing what Sasuke told him. He thought about it for a full minute, his hand still on the doorknob.

Naruto took a step toward the door.

Sasuke's hand began turning the knob.

Naruto turned away from the door, his years of solitude winning out over his newly found feelings and momentary lapse in judgement.

Sasuke let go of the knob and turned from the door, years of thinking only of himself winning out over the bubble of softer emotions inside him.

Naruto leaned his palms against the wall, hanging his head, squeezing his eyes shut to prevent the moisture from escaping.

Sasuke walked down the darkened street, hugging himself, the hood of his shirt up to obscure his face as he wiped away his tears with the heel of one hand.


	7. Chapter 7

Sasuke made his way through the dark streets towards the generators at the north edge of the village. The place he used to call home.

His tears came and went, much as the moon came and went behind its cover of clouds. They rolled down his face whenever the pain built to a peak in his chest and continued until the pain abated. He would feel like he was getting a hold of himself, getting a handle on his unwanted grief and then _bam_ he'd be crying again.

Starshine illuminated the dirty space between the generators. Having been in a real home, with light and food and someone who cared about him, this paltry patch of dirt that sat between the four large generators was downright lachrymose. Sasuke looked at it, covered his face in his hands and really let loose the waterworks.

The way he'd felt when he'd almost died, bleeding his life into the dirt was absolutely nothing compared to how bad he hurt now. It hurt in his mind, in his soul, in every drop of his blood. He'd gone so long with nothing and no one and then he'd found someone, had had something beautiful. And what did he do? He'd shat all over it, that's what. The sounds he made were loud and heartfelt, the sound of an animal dying slowly of some unimaginable pain. How had he been brought to this state?

How he ended up sitting against one generator, his pack beside him, he didn't remember. He only knew he'd stopped crying some time ago because his face was stiff with dried tears. He looked at the moon coming out from a cloud bank and breathed deeply of the foul air. He lay down in the dirt, his head on his pack.

Back where he started.

* * *

Naruto sat cross-legged on his floor. His eyes stared blankly ahead in the dark. His body was perfectly still, but his mind was very busy.

If one were to put it in specific terms, Naruto was busy packing up everything inside of himself that had Sasuke's name on it. He carted these boxes to a bottomless cavern in his mind and tipped them into it. For a wonder the cavern was in a room with a door. He closed this door and locked it. He went up a flight of stairs, still in his mind, and exited a door in the floor. It shut with a square trapdoor that he padlocked. He set a great stone block of some sort on the trapdoor as if to prevent anything escaping. He left the room with the trapdoor and came out into a hall, which led to another room, which, when he left that, led outside. He turned and surveyed the pretty house. All traces, feelings and thoughts of Uchiha Sasuke were in that house.

He set the house to blazes with a cigarette lighter.

Naruto came out of his semi-trance with a calm blink of his eyes. He was back where he started.

* * *

The next morning was Sunday. Sasuke woke up nearly frozen though it was summer. The heat from the generators was a weak substitute for Blondie's body. It was like eating a ten-course meal and then the next day having to make do with a biscuit you stole from a rat. Blondie's heat was like a straight shot of pow. The generators-

Fuck it, Sasuke thought getting to his feet. He'd wasted enough time lying around. He stood and paused as he realized he didn't have a bathroom to go to now. It had never registered with him before what a luxury a toilet could be. He looked down at himself, noting the dirt stains on his new clothes. It bothered him.

He pissed on the ground and grimaced at not being able to wash his hands afterward. He had to get Blondie and his life with him, brief as it had been, out of his head. He had his own life and now that he was back in it, he had business to attend to.

* * *

Naruto hadn't slept last night. He still sat in the same position in the middle of his floor. The sun rose in the window behind him, casting his shadow on the wall in front of him in sharp relief. He watched his shadow shrink slowly down the wall, growing less distinct. His mind was a complete and utter blank, removed from life and, more importantly, any pain his life held. It was his normal state of being. Prior to Sasuke he'd spend sometimes days at a time without doing anything but what he was currently doing. He was able to eat, train, and walk around town in this same state.

-oOo-

A small group of people currently stood outside Naruto's apartment building. They wore the plainest, drabbest clothing they could acquire, but they still smelled and looked exactly like what they were: The nobles' kids. All were present except Chouji who had told them to leave him alone when they'd stopped by his compound that morning.

They each wore a hoody with the hood pulled up and the drawstring drawn tight. They wore the outrageously unthinkable garment called jeans and hideous footwear called sneakers. They stood together in a huddle as they looked up at the building, its wear and tear made slightly beautiful in the benevolent morning light.

"Are we sure this is the place?" Shikamaru whispered.

"Positive," Kiba answered.

"And we are _all_ going after him this time, right? No more throwing me to the wolves?" Shino demanded. His ass was atrociously sore, as was the rest of him. His face was black and blue.

Hana laid a hand on his shoulder. "We're all going after him, don't you worry." She had to erase the shame of her and Kiba running like cowards yesterday.

-oOo-

They'd gotten to the Hyuuga estate yesterday and sighed with relief that the demon hadn't followed them. Shino had launched into the longest speech he'd ever made in their hearing, saying how such betrayal was unheard of and how could they do that to him.

"What would you have had us do," Shikamaru asked curiously.

"Help me, that's what!" Shino exploded furiously. "Once you saw how it was going you should have come to my aid! I can't believe you let him take me like that."

"You seemed to enjoy it," Neji pointed out. "You screamed most becomingly."

Neji threw his kimono over his head to avoid the cloud of bugs.

"I say we go after him again," Hinata had licked her lips. She'd still had a hazy just-been-fucked look to her eyes that had Kiba scowling at her. He watched as she fingered herself lazily, licking the digits and inserting them again. "Mmm, I can still taste him."

Kiba hadn't liked what he'd seen. "Hinata's right," he'd said abruptly. "We go after him again. And this time," he'd said with a glance at Shino, "we all take his ass down. We'll get him in the morning, before he goes anywhere."

Shikamaru had needed some convincing, but they'd all eventually agreed. Operation: seduce and...and well, whatever was going in for round two.

-oOo-

And here they stood outside the building, the Inuzukas opting to leave their companion dogs at home; Kiba had said he could find the place again. They all glanced at each other, reaffirming their decision to do this.

Kiba led the way up the stairs until he reached a particular door. The pointed, hooded heads all turned toward each other nervously. They stood there in their baggy jeans and brand new sneakers while Shino quickly kicked the door in before moving back.

* * *

Chouji trembled aguishly as he made his way out of the Akimichi compound. He didn't have far to go; Sasuke leaned casually against the wall of a nearby building, perfectly within sight of Chouji's home.

Sasuke watched the fatso creep toward him fearfully. His arms and legs were crossed, his pack on his back. The early morning wind blew the long front layers of his hair around his pretty face as Chouji finally came to a stop within touching distance.

Akimichi Chouji waited for Sasuke to say something, but he didn't. He just looked at Chouji with an almost puzzled expression, as if trying to figure him out.

"W-well, I h-have the money here," Chouji said as he reached into his kimono to withdraw an envelope that was smaller than the one Kakashi had been given but of the same design. He held it out to Sasuke.

Sasuke looked at it for a moment, before he raised his eyes to Chouji's face again with that same faintly puzzled look.

When Sasuke finally moved, it was too quick for Chouji to see. Instead of reaching for the envelope, though, Sasuke unfolded his arms and legs in one smooth motion, cupped the back of Chouji's fat neck and rammed the blade of a sharp kunai into the center of Chouji's chest. Sasuke felt the boy's sternum deflect the blade towards the left and shoved harder, sinking it in to the hilt. He gave it a vicious twist, doing extra damage. Chouji said, "Guh." That was all.

Sasuke took the envelope from the boy's slack fingers as he slid to the ground in a heap. He stepped over the body and tucked the envelope into his bag as he walked casually up the road and turned a corner.

* * *

The hoody crew paused for the barest of seconds as they took in the sight of the demon sitting calmly in the middle of the empty room. Then he blinked. His eyes, and only his eyes, turned toward them. The nervous, agitated kids entered the room quickly and shut the door as best they could behind themselves.

Naruto watched as they turned toward him, surrounding him. He supposed that they were going for round two, but he was no longer a part of Sasuke's plans, and so couldn't care less what these people wanted from him. He wondered what they would do when he didn't respond.

The answer was that they would jump him anyway, which they did.

They all made a flying leap and crushed the demon beneath their combined weight. Kiba, by virtue of being the one right on top of him, began shredding the demon's clothes with his sharp nails. The bodies on top of him pressed his face to the demon's chest and Kiba suddenly found himself salivating in lust. His mouth clamped down over a rosy nipple.

Naruto reared strongly, throwing them to various parts of the room. He rolled so that he crouched on all fours, his clothes hanging off of him. Suddenly, he wasn't a passive participant in whatever plans they had. He wanted them gone, preferably bleeding. His eyes turned red.

Kiba howled and leapt on Naruto's back, Hana following closely. Shikamaru hesitated before applying his Kage Mane. Neji took advantage as he activated his Byakugan and hit the demon's Tenketsus. Kiba sank his fangs into the muscle on the demon's shoulder as Hana did the same on the other side of his neck. They inserted their chakra into him through their fangs, demanding submission.

Naruto's own fangs lengthened as he growled threateningly. His claws punctured the floor as they grew and his Kyuubi chakra sprang up around him. He opened his mouth and roared, shaking the glass in the window, the walls of the room. He rolled with his attackers, his teeth and nails seeking blood.

The rest of the hoody gang jumped to lend assistance.

* * *

Sasuke actually had to go to the library to look up the location of the Nara Parkland. Once in the library, he was distracted by the portraits of the five Hokages that stood high against the wall opposite the entrance. His eyes were drawn to The Fourth Hokage. Sasuke crept closer to it as he noted how similar the dead man's coloring was to-

_No. I won't think about him._ It hurt too much to think about him. Sasuke felt as if everything inside him that made him alive; his heart and lungs and other vital organs, had been left in that room, ripped from him with the closing of Blondie's door. Just to call up his face had him doubling over at the loss. So, no. He couldn't think about Blondie just then. He had to focus on hurting the ones responsible for this mess, as he saw it.

He found the book he needed and calmly flipped through the pages. He came to a section on the Uchiha clan. Sasuke looked at this, looked at the picture of his mother, father, brother and himself. Seeing it, he remembered when the photo was taken.

_Blood, screams, fire._

Sasuke turned the page. By the time he'd turned three more pages he'd forgotten he'd ever seen the picture, forgot his family, forgot everything before that night. It stayed forgotten.

Sasuke jotted down the coordinates he wanted and left the library. Thirty minutes later he'd snuck past gate security at the village entrance and was jogging toward the acres belonging to the Nara family.

* * *

Screams, shouts and curses issued from behind Uzumaki Naruto's door. The door itself had splintered down the middle as someone on the inside was thrown against it. The residents of the building who happened to be home, clustered on the stairs or at the far end of the hall, whispering amongst themselves, wondering what the Jesus was going on with their frightening, but normally quiet neighbor.

What was going on was Kiba was currently being hammered to within an inch of his life. He'd tried to mount the demon, stabbing at the muscular ass with his cock, when the demon had whirled, seen what was being attempted and pinned Kiba to the floor. Kyuubi took over his mind then and he found himself ramming into the snarling boy, which effectively shut him up as Kiba gasped in pleasure.

The screams and shouts came from Kiba's comrades who tried to 'save' him. Shikamaru's chakra was spent, the demon broke from his jutsu with brute strength time and again. Neji, too, didn't bother with Tenketsus once he'd seen how the demon chakra only reopened them. They both tackled the demon's back as he fucked Kiba senseless, the girls screaming and doing the same. Shino hung back, waiting for his chance to get his revenge. He spotted it when the weight of his four friends flattened the demon for a second.

Shino was ready. He had his dick out and it was primed for action. He hurried forward and managed to get the head of his shit into the demon before a deafening roar sounded and they were thrown back. Shino landed on the bottom, but the demon reached between the bodies to haul him up and throw him against a wall. He was turned around roughly so that his chest pressed flat against the wall as he felt the demon enter him, his thick cock coated with blood from Kiba. It slid in, stretching his already sore ass and Shino bellowed.

Neji tried to help, flinging himself onto the demon's back again as he pumped Shino's ass. Naruto turned his head to look at the white-eyed boy gnawing on his shoulder and reached behind him to grab Neji by his hair. He slung him around and against the wall where he collapsed, dazed. Neji sat against the wall, blinking bemusedly while Naruto held him down with a foot.

Hinata ran at Naruto then, but he backhanded her. She spun away in a fan of blue-black hair as she was knocked to the far side of the room.

Shino hollered while Naruto used him, scrabbling at the wall. When he was finally discarded, he crawled away as quickly as he was able, looking behind him as Naruto, glowing with orange chakra hauled Neji up and slammed him into the exact same position.

Neji was coming to his senses, though. He managed to turn just as the demon came at him with that monster cock. He lunged to the side, but the demon only pushed him back to the wall and held him there. Neji's punches and palm thrusts were ineffectual as Naruto lifted one of the Hyuuga's long legs to wrap around his hip. Neji squeezed his eyes shut, twisting his head in denial as he felt the thick flesh pushing itself inside his resistant body.

"Do something!" Neji yelled to his cohorts.

Hana came to his rescue, or tried to. She forced her way between them and shoved Naruto as hard as she could. She was 5' 10 inches of solid female and the demon was dislodged from Neji as he staggered backward two steps. Naruto slapped her forcefully. She fell against Neji, who fell to the floor atop her. Naruto fell atop them both and rammed his cock into first Hana, then Neji, alternating between fucking the two of them.

Shikamaru decided he was lucky to have escaped such treatment and got the hell out of there, Kiba right behind him, pulling his pants on. Naruto noticed them slipping out of the broken door with a flick of red eyes. He sank his teeth into the back of Neji's neck as he pounded into him, Neji moaning in ecstasy and pain as Naruto yanked his head back by a fistful of hair.

Hana squealed as she felt Neji enter her ass, then the demon enter her pussy. She was full to bursting with cock meat. Neji's fingers laced with hers, squeezing as the demon pulled out of her and entered him again.

Shino found his courage again, after watching the tableau for a few shocked seconds. Neji had tried to help him. Shino didn't release his bugs since the demon chakra was till present, but he jumped and landed with his knee on Naruto's back.

Neji and Hana both yelled in protest, before Naruto supported his and Shino's weight on his palms. The demon snarled and turned to snatch Shino as he'd tried to back up. Shino fought but found himself straddling Neji's back, his hands braced behind him on Neji's shoulders as the demon lowered those sharp teeth over his cock.

Hinata, whose clothes were mostly intact, decided she would save herself and if anyone survived what she was seeing, she would try and comfort them later. She, too, went the way of Shikamaru and Kiba.

Shino's head fell back as suction of unbelievable strength had him mewling and bucking. Hana cried out as she was entered again and Neji shook through an orgasm.

* * *

It took a few tries, but Sasuke was finally able to execute a katon of sufficient size and heat to set a large part of the Nara forest on fire. He zipped around with a kunai, catching as many of the prized deer that ran his way as he could. He spun between them, slitting their throats. Quite a few made it past him, but that was okay: even more hadn't.

The fire spread, fanned by the morning breeze. Acrid black smoke erupted over the forest and Sasuke made sure to leave before ANBU could come to investigate.

"Next up: those fucking Inuzukas," Sasuke murmured to himself.

He headed back to the village.

* * *

Naruto stood up, shaking himself to clear his head. Shino, Hana and Neji lay on the floor, unconscious. A glance at his window showed quite some time had passed. He dragged them, one by one, to his door and threw them into the hall. He saw neighbors hiding behind the banister as they watched him, nude, tossing three equally naked people outside his door like so much trash. They watched the door slam shut, then open again as a sneaker flew out to strike one of the senseless boys in the face. The door closed again, remaining shut despite the fact that it was broken by virtue of the force with which it was slammed.

Naruto, oblivious to the speculation he'd caused, headed for his bathroom and a shower. Now that he was fully back to himself, he spent a few minutes thinking about what he'd just done. He let the hot spray wash him clean of sweat and blood as he soaped his hair.

Kyuubi, apparently, had an appetite for sex. Naruto could not say where the ideas to do the things he'd done had come from except from the Bijuu that had temporarily taken over his mind. He'd been enraged, yes, at how they'd ganged up on him but he could have dealt with them without the Kyuubi's influence. He'd been meaning to, but the Fox had surface inside him and responded to what the nobles had been trying to do. Responded eagerly. He remembered how the female had been spread on the floor as Shino lay beneath her, entering her rear passage while he, Naruto entered her front passage and the Hyuuga boy entered her mouth.

It disgusted Naruto. He knew others were disgusted at the sight of him, but this was the first time he was really revolted by himself. What he'd done was nothing at all like what he'd done with –

Ah. No. That person was not to be mentioned. Never again.

-it was nothing like what he'd done before, during his first time. Then it had been beautiful, it had been _right._ What he'd done out there had been every kind of wrong. He felt dirty. Naruto scrubbed himself viciously.

He was going to show those nobles who they were dealing with, he'd had enough of these cat and mouse games.

* * *

Shikamaru arrived at his compound with a limping Kiba to find his parents and other clan members in a state of anxiety. Apparently Chouji had been attacked right outside his compound. No one had seen who his attacker was, but Shikamaru and Kiba exchanged frightened glances. _Sasuke,_ they mouthed.

Chouji had been rushed to the hospital, Shikaku told his son, but it didn't look good. He paused as he took in Shikamaru's attire and disheveled appearance before continuing. One of Chouji's heart ventricles had been punctured. Shikaku said that had a maid not seen him when she put the garbage out, Chouji would have died. This was the second attack against the Akimichis in less than a week. Someone had found Kakashi's body yesterday evening as well, and the last person he'd been seen with was Chouji. It was feared that the nobles were being attacked in someway by unknown forces. Shikamaru saw his father shake his head as he said all this.

Shikaku left Shikamaru alone as some ANBU arrived at the compound to speak with him. Shikamaru led Kiba up to his suite of rooms. He glanced up and down the hallway before shutting his door and locking it.

"Shikamaru, do you really think it was Sasuke?" Kiba's voice shook. He tried to sit, gasped, and stood back up.

"Had to be," he said as he paced. "He specifically said that Chouji would pay dearly for his mistake. That's not what worries me, though."

"What is it," Kiba asked fearfully.

"He said he was coming after all of us." Shikamaru paused in his pacing to look at Kiba's wide eyes. He was standing by Shikamaru's bed. "And he said that demon was his friend, by which it may be concluded that the demon will be the muscle behind his attacks when they come…and we just did our best to anger that very same demon. How could we have forgotten that he killed Kakashi?"

Kiba frowned, his face belying fear. "If that demon attacks my family and my mom finds out it's my fault, she'll kill me!"

"Well-" Shikamaru was cut off as his clan members downstairs set up an outraged chorus of yells. He ran to his door and pulled it open.

He arrived out of breath in the main hall to find his family in a state of shock. Listening to tearful, garbled, and broken accounts from various clan members, Shikamaru learned that their forest and prized deer had been violated. He saw his father and other male members of his family leave with the ANBU unit.

Shikamaru sat slowly on the stairs, fear numbing his face and hands. Kiba came and stood beside him. The pony-tailed boy was silent until he turned to Kiba.

"Go. Go and warn your family before it's too late. Tell them to warn the others."

Kiba ran out of the compound.

* * *

Sasuke stood in a tree that overhung the Inuzuka property. He could see Kiba and Hana's mutts rolling around within the gated front yard, along with another dog. He wasn't exactly sure how to go about getting to them since the ninja dogs would smell any sort of threat. Sasuke had briefly considered poisoning them. He stood there, hidden by the leaves, thinking.

* * *

Naruto, finished with his shower and dressed, didn't know where any of the nobles lived. By the time he'd gotten out to the hall, his attackers were gone and so were his neighbors.

He left his building and went outside. He stood thoughtful for a moment, then began walking.

"Ah, the noble's compounds," said the old man as he served Naruto a steaming bowl of ramen. "Yes, I know where they are. The closest one to here happens to be the Inuzuka compound. Here, boy, I'll draw you a little map."

Naruto ate his ramen quickly as he watched the old man ink out a map on a napkin. Naruto took it, paid for his food and left, thanking the man as he ducked out of the small shop.

Once outside the Inuzuka compound he stood staring at the high walls for a moment before he leaped and was on the other side. He landed in a low crouch.

* * *

Kiba and Hana had only just gotten home. They'd arrived separately but almost at the exact same time. They snuck upstairs to where their rooms were without alerting their mother. If she saw them in the condition they were in, wearing raggedy clothing they'd stolen from some people outside the demon's apartment in Hana's case, she would probably have made life extremely unpleasant for them. Especially if she found out they had been trying to provoke the demon in his own home. Inuzuka Tsume was a very frightening person even under the best of circumstances.

Kiba told a shocked Hana what had happened to the Naras and Chouji. She was just asking a question when they heard snarling in the front yard, followed by howling they recognized as Kuromaru's. They looked at each other with wide eyes before they ran into the hall, their mother and other clan members joining them.

* * *

Down in the front yard, Akamaru and the Haimaru Sankyodai were growling at Naruto. Another dog, one with an eye-patch over his right eye and missing his left ear, spoke to Naruto.

"You don't belong here, you're trespassing. Leave before I rip your throat out."

Naruto eyed the big wolfish dog. "Your family attacked me in my own home. You all will pay for that."

Sasuke, watching from the tree, found that information interesting. At the sight of Blondie he'd sunk to his knees, holding on to the tree trunk for support. In just one day he'd managed to forget how beautiful Blondie was. He'd forgotten the timbre of his voice, the way he moved. He'd been drinking all this in when the conversation between Naruto and the dog brought him out of his reverie. They'd attacked Blondie? Fierce snarling and growling broke out below him and he moved along the branch to see what was going on.

It looked like a big dog fight with Blondie thrown in. There was a huge tangle of fur, arms, blond hair and dust. When this dust settled, Kiba's dog and one of the Haimaru Sankyodai lay dead. The dog with the missing eye, two legs broken, saw this and set up a howl that was sure to bring everyone in the compound running. Sasuke acted without thinking.

* * *

Naruto stood looking at both the dead dogs and the wounded dogs, feeling his own wounds close up and heal. The black, wolfish dog began howling. Naruto moved, grabbed it and snapped its neck just as he heard running feet coming from the compound.

A smoke bomb detonated right behind Naruto and he felt himself grabbed and led somewhere via Shunshin. Naruto landed a few blocks over and turned to view his would be savior.

It was Sasuke.

Before he could say anything, the big blond was told to run and pulled along behind the slender boy. Naruto, at a loss for words and liking the feel of the thin hand in his own, ran.

Naruto's longer, stronger legs pumped furiously, trying to keep up with Sasuke's lean ones. Naruto finally gave in and used chakra to bound along the rooftops, but Sasuke hissed at him that he would be seen. Naruto fell back to the streets and followed where Sasuke led.

-oOo-

They ended up in an abandoned warehouse, Sasuke doubled over against a wall, trying to catch his breath. Naruto took one or two deep breaths of his own and was fine. He stood to one side of the large entrance while Sasuke stood on the other. His blue eyes stared at Sasuke without feeling.

Sasuke wasn't really as winded as he was pretending to be. He just needed time to think. Blondie was _right there_ and he wanted to say something…he just didn't want to mess it up. Finally, when he could stand the silence no more, he straightened and turned toward the man he loved more than should be physically possible.

Damn. Those eyes. As if the sky and ocean had mated and produced two little babies that resided in Blondie's head. They were bottomless, endless blue like the ocean and sky and they seemed to steal Sasuke's breath away the moment he met them. He grit his teeth and forged ahead.

"I'm sorry. Okay? I'm sorry I acted the way I did last night. I'm sorry I got mad at you and I'm sorry…for everything."

Naruto didn't move, sternly forbidding his body to approach the waif whose eyes were dark pools of suffering and pain and vulnerability. He clenched his fists to prevent himself from reaching out to draw those thin shoulders close, to hold the combative boy to his heart.

Ah, his heart. It hurt at seeing Sasuke, as if the thing struggled to beat while skewered with some abrasive object. He had to take another deep breath through the pain.

And the words. The words that Sasuke said with an attempt at sincerity. Perhaps they were sincere, but Naruto did not want to face that pain again. That pain of Sasuke's disgust, his hate…

…but he wanted Sasuke with him. Sasuke was his. His own. He spent a few minutes thinking while Sasuke waited for his answer.

It wasn't whether or not Sasuke was sorry, Naruto decided. That didn't matter. What mattered was Sasuke's inability to face certain things, the way he constantly contradicted himself. That would be the thing that got in the way. Naruto couldn't care less who Sasuke hurt or stole from or killed. Such was life. But he didn't know how to step or act around him when the boy said one thing while meaning another while yet doing something else entirely.

"Sasuke," Naruto said. Sasuke, whose head had fallen at the prolonged silence, lifted his eyes now to Naruto's face in hope. "I think…you mean what you say. But you have a habit of saying one thing and doing another. You are confusing to be around. You and I had sex yet you say we didn't. I don't know how to deal with that, don't know how to deal with people in the best of circumstances. If you would repair our partnership, I need something from you."

Sasuke had already turned away at hearing about the sex and how he'd acted. He didn't necessarily want to hear anymore. All he'd been looking for was a simple 'yes, I accept your apology, come home with me'. Blondie continued speaking anyway.

"I want to know what happened to you, your past, your history. And if our relationship is to be a physical one then you must admit it. If you are willing to do those things, I am willing to try again." Naruto waited, watching Sasuke's thin back, his equally thin arms on his hips.

Sasuke was having trouble breathing. Just the mention of these things brought on an intense headache. He couldn't. He really couldn't go into his past. No.

Naruto knew what the answer would be when Sasuke turned around. There was a blank, faraway look to his eyes, as if the real Sasuke had retreated behind a protective wall. Sasuke didn't answer him, just walked calmly out into the sunlight and was gone.

Naruto spent all of three seconds watching the place Sasuke had been standing in before he sprinted after him. He blinked in the bright light, but Sasuke was nowhere to be found. He didn't sense his chakra nearby either.

* * *

 

He walked back to his apartment in a daze. Why had he issued that ultimatum when Sasuke had been right within his grasp? The boy had apologized. They could have worked on the rest. Naruto felt sick anger at himself. He'd made a mistake. Why had it been a mistake, though? He'd been right to request those things from Sasuke, he felt it. But it had been the wrong thing to say. He felt that, too. What was Naruto supposed to do?

Outside his building he stopped. He remembered what had transpired there this morning, which reminded him that he had just launched an offensive against the Inuzuka clan. He didn't want to be in his apartment just then. He decided to head to the training grounds instead. He wanted time to think.

-oOo-

Konohamaru showed up an hour later. He looked to be in a state of high excitement as he ran toward Naruto. Naruto watched him approach with concealed annoyance. He didn't feel like conversing with the boy right now.

"Naruto, oh my God, did you hear? Somebody's attacking the nobles! People don't know who it is! Chouji's been stabbed and he might die, somebody set the Nara Parkland on fire and killed most of their deer and the Inuzuka dogs are dead! Everybody thought the Hyuugas and Aburames escaped but I heard Hinata got home all bruised up and Neji and Shino were also in bad shape. I heard Neji could hardly walk! Do you think it's Sasuke?"

Naruto wisely kept his mouth shut on the subject. Konohamaru was a gossipy person. He couldn't be expected to keep the knowledge to himself if Naruto confided that he himself had been responsible for a large part of what had happened to the nobles today. And he wouldn't sell Sasuke out. Naruto had seen and smelled the smoke on the thin boy earlier and paid it no mind. He had a good idea that he'd probably been the one to stab Chouji as well.

Instead, Naruto brought up what he'd been thinking about. It was an effective way to redirect Konohamaru's thinking and possibly get some answers of his own.

"Why," Naruto asked the hyper boy, "Would someone be incapable of talking about their past? Why would someone say something didn't happen when they know that it did?"

Konohamaru, young and inexperienced in many things, nevertheless had a working knowledge of basic human behavior. "Lot's of reasons," he said now. Naruto suppressed a smile as he listened. The boy was definitely successfully distracted.

"It could be the past is shameful so they don't discuss it. Could be the person blocked it out and can't remember. Could be they really forgot." Konohamaru swung his legs as he sat on the same rock Naruto perched on.

"And my other question?"

"Oh," Konohamaru said as he scratched his head. "Maybe they're scared to get in trouble and that's why they don't admit to something that happened. Or maybe what happened was something the person thought was bad and they feel like if they said it didn't happen, then it really didn't happen."

"But the thing that happened was something the person _wanted_ to happen," Naruto countered, thoroughly confused. "Why would they then say it didn't happen?"

Konohamaru laughed. "Sounds like this person is really fucked up. Maybe it's something the person can't face. Something that doesn't fit with their self-image. I don't know, man, you'd need the library to look up people and their crazy ways."

Naruto watched the boy scamper off after that. He sat where he was for a while longer before getting to his feet. Sasuke had approached him, had saved him from being caught by the Inuzukas; maybe it was time he now approached Sasuke.

He set out from the training grounds in search of him.


	8. Chapter 8

Naruto couldn't find Sasuke anywhere. He spent several days at the task, covering a different part of the village each day. Sasuke was adept at hiding, it seemed. Naruto did not approach the nobles or any of the places Sasuke had shown him they frequented, which was a pity. Had he done so, he would have discovered something of potential interest.

-oOo-

The nobles were despondent with grief, livid over the attacks and looking to put a stop to them once and for all. The children involved, and their parents, were all gathered at the Akimichi compound some days after the dual assault on the Nara and Inuzuka clans. Chouji was still in the hospital in critical condition, but he was able to speak. He'd given his father Sasuke's name and told of the incident at the public bath. Chouza had called this meeting with the intention of finding out just how involved the other nobles' kids were.

Said kids cowered on the large, curved ten-seater sofa the Akikichis had in their living room. Tsume, Shikaku, Hiashi, Chouza and Shibi stood in front of them. They were far from happy. Tsume began.

"Is it true? Do you know the murderer of our companions, Hana? Did you and your brother go after him the day they were killed?"

"Mom, please, it wasn't like-" Hana began.

"Chouji said the demon boy was with Sasuke the day he approached you all in the bath, that he was the one who killed Kakashi. Chouji also said you kids planned on attacking the demon. Did you?" Shikaku barked. "Did you bring on the destruction of our deer and land?"

"I never really wanted to go along with the plan in the first place," Shikamaru muttered.

"You fucking liar," Kiba spat. "You were just as keen on taking the fight to them as everyone else."

"Yeah, just because the demon didn't fuck _you_ -" Hinata raged.

"WHAT?!" Hiashi yelled. "Don't tell me you engaged in relations with that thing? Hinata, I thought you had more discretion!" Hiashi rounded on his nephew. "Neji, how could you let that happen?"

"Please," Kiba snorted, eager to share the wealth, "He's the one who pushed Hinata to have sex with the demon first."

"Well, he got you too, dogbreath!" Neji had his Byakugan on.

"Like you escaped!" Kiba's fangs were prominent.

"Both of you shut up," Tsume roared. "I knew I smelled some strange scent on you both the day our companions died," she continued more quietly to her children. "But to think that you went and deliberately provoked that monster…."

"Who," Shibi asked quietly, "Actually mated with the beast?"

Every hand except Shikamaru's rose hesitantly into the air.

"What could have possessed you to do something like this?" Shikaku asked, secretly pleased that his son was excluded from the others' shame.

"It was that bitch, Sasuke" Kiba seethed. He told the entire tale from beginning to end. When it was concluded, Shibi spoke.

"The way I see it, Sasuke recruited this demon to harass us. The demon is known for keeping to himself while Sasuke has a reputation for trouble. The blame lies with Sasuke, he is responsible for this trouble against us, I'm sure. I will head to the council and call a meeting between them and Danzo. Shino, Kiba, find that Uchiha."

Shibi left the Akimichi residence. Shino and Kiba followed shortly afterward, once Tsume had given her son a resounding punch to his skull.

* * *

Sasuke went directly from that meeting with Blondie to the ruins of the Uchiha compound. It was a place he passed several times a day at least and never actually saw. Like one never actually saw the nose on their face.

Why he went there probably had something to do with Blondie's ultimatum, but Sasuke didn't bother to think about it. He just found himself there without remembering actually walking to the place.

It was creeping him out, that was for damn sure. All of the houses were blackened ruins. His feet carried him along a remembered path. As he walked, he saw the houses as they had looked before the fire superimposed over the charred remains. It was like walking in a dream.

He stopped in front of a one-story house of some elegance. The largest, nicest house on the block. A small rock garden adorned the area in front of it. He could see a man, a woman and two boys eating dinner at the table through one of the windows.

It was his house, his family.

Sasuke studied this image with detachment. The front of the house fell away and he could see a cross-section of the rooms. His mother and father went to the sitting room and spoke quietly. The small Sasuke went to his room. After a moment, Itachi followed.

Sasuke's skin broke out in goose bumps. He knew what was coming, oh God, how could he have forgotten?

* * *

_Itachi shut the door behind himself. Six-year-old Sasuke looked up from his desk where he was completing academy homework. Itachi had a small smile on his face._

_"Hey, little brother. What are you doing?"_

_"Homework. You didn't knock."_

_"I don't have to knock. Why don't you leave your homework? I want to ask you something."_

_"Oh? What." Sasuke didn't particularly like his older brother. His feelings toward Itachi could probably be best described as reluctant awe. It was a feeling Itachi generated in one form or another in most people who knew him._

_"Just come here, dobe," Itachi said._

_Sasuke usually kept his distance from Itachi. To pass within touching range of the Uchiha prodigy was to invite bodily harm. Sasuke did not move from his chair, though he watched Itachi carefully._

_Itachi reached behind him and locked Sasuke's door. Sasuke's muscles flinched at the sound. His breathing quickened as everything in him went on red alert. This couldn't be good._

_Itachi went over, took Sasuke's hand and pulled him to the middle of the room. He turned his younger brother to face him._

_"You know what I heard that pussy Hyuuga Neji tell his friends today? I heard him tell them that you were the prettiest little boy in the academy. He says you're going to be his boyfriend when you guys grow up. Have you been doing gay shit, Little brother?" Itachi asked pleasantly. Sasuke didn't answer, only looked at his brother warily. A pleasant Itachi was a dangerous Itachi._

_"And then guess what, Sasuke," Itachi continued. Sasuke did not bother to guess. "Kiba said he'd make you his bitch before Neji would have a chance at you. Can you imagine little six-year-old chibis like yourself saying the word bitch? Do you say bitch, Sasuke?"_

_Sasuke very slowly shook his head. Itachi's smile widened._

_"As a matter of fact, almost your entire class thinks you're just too cute or pretty or 'hawt' for words. That mind freak Ino said she wanted to wrap you naked in her hair…and she's five! What, I ask you, has been going on there at the academy, Sasuke?"_

_Sasuke licked his lips nervously. He never really paid his classmates any mind. He was the top of his class and concentrated on studies and schoolwork. He knew people said things, but it was always like that._

_"Well," Itachi said, taking a step closer to his brother. "I don't think I like the idea of my brother being some boy's bitch. Do you like me?" Itachi asked suddenly._

_Sasuke had sense enough to lie. "Of course. You're family."_

_"You like me better than your friends?"_

_"I guess."_

_"Prove it."_

_Sasuke didn't like the sound of that. "H-How?"_

_Itachi looked at his little brother. The lamp light was behind Sasuke, but he could see how frightened his little brother was. Itachi liked scaring his little brother. Sasuke was a very smart little jerk and Itachi preferred to dominate the little shit in anyway that he could. Already, Sasuke used his Sharingan better than Itachi had at that age. Instead of answering his brother's question he grabbed him, twisted him and clamped a hand over his mouth._

_Sasuke struggled, fear making him pant through his nose as he felt Itachi reaching a hand down the front of his pants._

_Itachi only held the soft little prick in his hand, feeling Sasuke tremble. Itachi felt his own prick respond with a jump that had never happened to him before. He paused, unsure of himself. Itachi might have left things at that if Sasuke hadn't broken away from his slack grip, Sharingan blazing, and attempted to fight Itachi. His brother turning on him, resisting him, defying him…Itachi couldn't allow that._

_Sasuke was pummeled into the floor. He was crying, bleeding. Itachi often beat the snot out of his little brother, but he always made it better afterward. This time was no different._

_Itachi knelt next to Sasuke and held him, comforting him. "Shh. You know I had to do it." He stroked his little brother's silky hair, nuzzling it. It smelled like nuts and spices and other yummy things to eat. Sasuke's sniffles subsided after awhile._

_When Itachi had heard the kids talking today it had given him a shock. Sasuke never really talked about school, so Itachi had always assumed Sasuke was a loner like him. Their father had asked Itachi to pick Sasuke up from school today. Itachi had agreed. He'd been unpleasantly surprised to see his brother surrounded by the other nobles, as well as almost the entire class. Sasuke had seen him waiting, run inside to get his bag and Itachi had heard the ensuing conversations. Itachi knew for a fact that no one ever said he was 'hawt'.  
_

_Sasuke was his. No one else's. His to play with and love and hurt and whatever. Jealousy of noxious intensity caused Itachi to be silent all the way home and all through dinner._

_And now here they were._

_Sasuke leaned against him, seeking comfort even though Itachi had been the one to hurt him. Itachi liked that about Sasuke, that no matter how much Itachi hurt him his brother always forgave him. Itachi loved his brother fiercely in his own twisted way._

_Sasuke thought maybe Itachi was calm now and wouldn't hit him. He kept himself still to avoid provoking him again. He let Itachi rub his back and hair, soothing him. It was kind of nice. It was the only time he ever got affection from his brother, after an ass-kicking._

_When the touches started moving lower, Sasuke didn't immediately notice. He was lulled into a passive state of contentment. He only became aware of Itachi again when the older boy turned Sasuke's face and planted an urgent kiss on his lips._

_Sasuke recoiled. "Ill. What are you doing?"_

_"What, can't I kiss my brother?"_

_"That's gross." Sasuke wiped his lips with the back of a hand._

_Itachi's voice softened. "No it's not, not if it's just you and me. If you do it with other boys, then its gross. It's gay and wrong and people will laugh at you. But with me its okay." He leaned toward Sasuke again._

_Sasuke allowed the kiss this time, but it still felt wrong to him. He could feel Itachi's hand creeping up his thigh._

_It had been two of the most hair raising hours of Sasuke's life. Every time he tried to protest, Itachi would hurt him in some way. Sasuke had finally threatened to tell their parents when Itachi put his mouth on Sasuke's privates. Itachi had merely looked up at him with Sharingan and proceeded to suck Sasuke's hairless little penis until it was red and raw. Sasuke's slow tears of shame only made Itachi smile devilishly._

_Eventually Sasuke's body overcame his initial fear and enjoyed Itachi's attentions. Sasuke hated when his brother would come to his room at night, but his body always shivered in expectation of the guilty pleasure that would follow. And he much preferred Itachi's fumbling attempts at affection than his rock-like fists._

_Sasuke never told a soul of what he and his brother did when they were alone. Itachi said he would kill him if he did. It was their secret. Only theirs. And they only did it at night. Itachi told Sasuke that if people knew what Sasuke was doing they would call him a gay freak and the whole Uchiha clan would be in disgrace. Sasuke obeyed and kept it a secret._

_A year later, Itachi went off the deep end and killed everyone in the compound. He'd shoved Sasuke into a basement and told him to stay there, but Sasuke had seen. He'd seen everything, heard everything…_

* * *

 Sasuke spent a few days in the Uchiha ruins. He had food in his pack and ate that as he thought and remembered his life before the slaughter.

He was sleeping late one day when he heard a voice call his name. He opened his eyes drowsily, thinking it was Blondie.

It was Kiba. He was running toward Sasuke. Sasuke stood and turned to run in the other direction, but collided with a cloud of bugs.

In all honesty, Sasuke didn't try to get away as hard as he might have; he was still reeling from the revelations of his past. Shino tackled him and Sasuke ceased all resistance. He let himself be carried away to God knew where, slung over Shino's shoulder.

Now he remembered what he'd seen and heard on that terrible night. He knew why Itachi had done what he did. He knew why the Uchihas had been hated and why he, the sole survivor of that clan, had been hunted and abused by all who saw him after that night.

-oOo-

Shino and Kiba brought the silent Sasuke to the council building. Sasuke dispassionately made note of the fact that the elders, Danzo and all of the nobles were present. They looked down at him with expressions of disgust, hate and triumph. A spark of defiance kindled in Sasuke.

Chouza stated his complaints first.

"This scum, Uchiha Sasuke, has blackmailed my son, Chouji, stabbed him brutally and left him for dead. He is responsible for the death of Hatake Kakashi, and the introduction of the Kyuubi boy to all of our children."

"He is also the one responsible for the destruction of our land and deer," Shikaku added stonily.

"Our dogs are dead as a result of him and that demon boy," Tsume said crisply.

The Hokage and council members conferred for a few moments, though Sasuke knew it was only a pretense. He was sure everything had already been decided before he got there.

* * *

Naruto was in his kitchen attempting to cook from a book. He remembered Sasuke mentioning it and had bought one that morning. So far, his rice was burnt to the bottom of the pan and his meat was going the same way. He decided to give up when he heard pounding on his door.

He turned off the cooking range and wiped his hands on a dishtowel before heading to his new door to see who it was. Naruto pulled it open.

It was Konohamaru.

"How do you know where I live?" Naruto asked.

"Puh-lease, I make it my business to know a lot of things." Konohamaru was leaning one palm against the jamb, his foot cocked across the other. He had a hand on his hip and looked up at Naruto through his brown bangs.

Naruto waited to hear what the boy wanted. Konohamaru rolled his eyes and shoved his way into the small apartment. Or, he tried to. Naruto blocked his way with an arm and the boy bounced off of it. He rubbed his chest indignantly. "Can't I come in?" he asked pleadingly.

Naruto considered it. He didn't like the boy showing up here at his home. He gave the kid lessons and the kid paid with food. Sometimes Naruto gleaned information from him. That was it, the extent of their relationship. Why was he here?

"What do you want," Naruto asked instead of answering.

"Me? Oh, nothing. I just thought you might like to know what's become of Uchiha Sasuke."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Why would you think I'd want to know that?"

"Because a little bird told me that Sasuke was living in here with you. Now I said to myself, I said, 'Why would Naruto be asking me about gay sex, people and their secrets, and why people do weird shit'. You and Sasuke are a thing, huh? Is he your…you know?" Konohamaru held up his pinky finger.

Naruto had no idea what the boy meant, but he stepped aside and let him in for one reason and one reason only:

"Where's Sasuke?"

Konohamaru looked at his watch. "Probably being detained in the village holding cells until his execution tomorrow morning. I heard old Chouza wanted Sasuke dead tonight, but -"

Naruto hauled Konohamaru up to eye level by a fistful of his shirt. Konohamaru kicked his legs and squealed in fright. "Where," Naruto said in such a calm voice that the boy stilled his movements, "are the village holding cells?"

"B-basement of the council building. You'll never get in there! It's being guarded by two ANBU units and the nobles' personal guards."

Naruto dropped him. He knew where the council building was, he'd been summoned there often enough to receive missions. He strode out of his apartment, leaving Konohamaru to rub his neck weakly on his floor.

It was moonrise. Naruto hadn't realized it was so late. He took a moment to clear his head and think about what he was about to do. There would be no turning back. Ever. Naruto's brows lowered into a V. If Sasuke could live with him then Naruto could live with the decision he was about to make. Sasuke was all he cared about.

* * *

Sasuke sat in his cell, shivering. He could see the ANBU guards that paced outside the structure and hear the ones who guarded the door at the top of the basement stairs. Outside the council building he knew the nobles' personal guards were keeping watch. Who they expected to come for him Sasuke didn't know. He was alone in the world. Nobody wanted or cared about him. Blondie…but, no. Even if Blondie knew where he was, Sasuke didn't think he could take on all these guards.

Actually, Blondie was probably the reason he had such heavy 'protection' in the first place. It had been mentioned several times that Sasuke had befriended the demon. They thought Blondie would come for him. Sasuke could have told them that he and Blondie were no longer exactly friends, but he just didn't care.

Instead, he sat thinking about his life. Sasuke never reflected on the past at all, not even as recent as last week. Before his flashback, he could hardly remember last year. He certainly couldn't remember the years immediately after the slaughter, and before the slaughter had been a complete blank. Now it was all there, uncovered and waiting for the perusal of his mind. Though he hated introspection, Sasuke took a good long look at himself. He measured himself against who he had been and found glaring discrepancies.

He also found motives and reasons for why he did the shit he did. It was a long, painful, uncomfortable process but Sasuke found that facing the person you were was as good a way as any to pass the time until your execution.

A shudder passed through him at remembering that he was scheduled to die tomorrow morning at dawn. He'd been told that the ANBU units would lay their hands on him while he was restrained, and insert lethal doses of chakra to his vital organs. He would be dead almost instantly.

Sasuke didn't want to die, but he didn't really have the drive to live that he'd had before. Sasuke thought with a touch of wonder that the most alive he'd been since the slaughter was those few days he'd spent with Blondie. Prior to that all he'd been doing was existing, living off the dregs of society as nothing but a scavenging insect himself. Shame was not a part of Sasuke's personality, but he definitely felt shame now. He'd been better than this.

He looked down at the pants he was wearing. They were filthy now but they were the same pants Blondie had bought for him. He lazily picked at a patch of crusted dirt, waiting for his end.

* * *

Before Naruto went after Sasuke, he made a few preparations. This took him an additional hour or so, but he was finally ready shortly after midnight.

It was the Inuzuka guards who spotted the glowing man walking towards them calmly. They knew who he was, had been told to be on their guard just in case he showed up. They'd also been told to use extreme prejudice when dealing with him.

Naruto did not pause at the fire, water and earth attacks that were thrown at him. He countered with wind and water attacks of his own. The guards did not provide much of an obstacle. One managed to get a kunai past Naruto's defenses; it sank into his neck deeply. The Kyuubi chakra flared for a moment, healing the injury. Naruto took that particular man's head off with a swipe of claws.

* * *

Sasuke heard the commotion outside and held his breath. His didn't dare hope…but no, it was Blondie, he heard one of the men scream 'demon' before the word ended with a guttural cry. It sounded like the man's throat had been torn out. The ANBU upstairs blocking the door to the basement fared a little better; they lasted ten minutes instead of three. The basement door came crashing down the stairwell in pieces and Sasuke's heart shattered with happiness at the sight of Blondie.

Naruto caught a glimpse of Sasuke holding to his bars, looking at him. There was such a grin of gladness on his face that Naruto was forced to curve up one corner of his own mouth in response. Sasuke always made him _feel._ Their eyes met briefly, an eternity, before the ANBU guarding the cage initiated a coordinated attack that had Naruto frowning in concentration before he could swing the fight in his favor. The last ANBU received a kick to the face that snapped his neck.

Sasuke was nearly jumping up and down in his excitement. "There's no key, Blondie! You have to have at least ten Jounins applying chakra at precise spots on this thing to open it up…what are we going to do?"

_We._ That small word made Naruto feel as if he could do anything. "Stand back."

Sasuke covered his mouth with his hands to prevent the screams from escaping, but they came anyway. A cloak shaped like the demon fox shrouded Blondie's entire body. He bared his fangs as he gripped two bars and pulled in opposite directions. Sasuke saw the veins and cords stand out in Blondie's neck and arms as he growled. The bars bent slowly outward.

As soon as he felt he was able, Sasuke slipped his thin frame through the bowed bars and exited his cage. Naruto grabbed his hand, but Sasuke froze where he was. The nobles themselves were coming down the stairs towards them.

"Go," Naruto told Sasuke. "Wait for me outside the village, I will find you."

"I'm not leaving you."

"Sasuke,"

"I can help. Please, Blondie."

Naruto didn't answer. Neji's uncle came at him using considerably more skill than either his nephew or his daughter had done. Naruto was thrown back by Kaiten and Chouza's Baika no Jutsu held him in a fist the size of a house while Tsume attacked like the animal she was.

Sasuke, recently reacquainted with the knowledge that he'd been a first rate Uchiha, let loose a fireball that filled the entire basement. The nobles howled before the katon could be doused, but by then Sasuke and Naruto had gone.

* * *

Naruto ran on all fours. Sasuke was plastered to his back, his hair blowing back from his face, his features alive with a wild laugh of triumph. Naruto's heart soared at the sound though they were being pursued.

The nobles did not chase them much beyond the village walls. ANBU was another story. It got to the point where Naruto had to turn and fight. Sasuke helped. Though he was much weaker, his katon jutsus were deadly in their intensity. His Sharingan glowed menacingly as he and Naruto fought back to back.

By dawn, they'd done away with seven units. It was mostly Naruto's doing. No more were sent after them. Naruto told Sasuke to keep up with him and then they were traveling.

Naruto reached a small clearing as the sun was peeking over the horizon and retrieved bags that he'd obviously stashed there beforehand. Sasuke said nothing as Naruto continued his breakneck pace through the forest trees.

Sasuke had to assume that Blondie didn't know the meaning of the words 'rest' and 'break'. They traveled non-stop until sunset. Sasuke didn't know where they were and cared less. He wanted food and sleep, in that order.

Naruto made camp in a field. He tossed Sasuke a bag that contained food while he made a fire. Sasuke ate ravenously, handing some of the food to Blondie once the fire was going. He edged his slight body as close to the fire as he could without sitting in it. Naruto watched Sasuke eat. When it seemed he was done, he opened his mouth to speak but Sasuke cut him off.

Sasuke cleared his throat, twisting his fingers, suddenly nervous. "I, um. I have something I want to say to you, N-Naruto. About who I am."


	9. Chapter 9

 Naruto did not do or say anything at this pronouncement. He merely looked at Sasuke looking into the flames and twisting his fingers. On the outside. On the inside, Naruto felt a keen eagerness to know all of this fascinating person at last. He waited patiently, the crackle of the flames the only sound in the night.

One thing Sasuke liked about Blondie was the fact that the guy seemed unflappable about the really major things. Hell, about anything. Some would say such a personality was about as exciting as watching paint dry, but Sasuke found it perfect. The constant mystery of wondering what Blondie was thinking was just so endlessly intriguing…like now, Sasuke had just said he had something to tell, basically the response to Blondie's ultimatum, but the dude didn't even blink. He didn't gloat or smirk or push. If Sasuke hadn't just been rescued by him, he would have thought that he could drop dead in front of Blondie and the dude wouldn't even care.

He liked that Blondie gave him time to get it out at his own pace. Sasuke stared at the fire and fancied he could see shapes, scenes from his past dancing in the heat. The night air was cold to him, but he was too absorbed in the fire to pay it any mind. After awhile, Naruto gazed into the fire too.

"What you said before about me being a noble is true, Blondie." Sasuke's voice didn't have its usual expressive flavor to it. It was low, devoid of inflection or life. It could have been a rock speaking. "The Uchiha clan was the largest and richest, most successful noble clan in Konoha. Our ancestry dates back to the founding of the village."

Naruto did not interrupt the steady flow of words. He listened attentively.

"I had a brother. Have a brother. An older brother. He was good at everything he did, a prodigy, a genius. People used to be afraid of him. They probably still are. I know I was. I used to think I was good at what I did too, but the night Itachi…the night he left, I found out that I was actually better than him in some ways.

"For one thing, I had friends. I was popular. Those same nobles I attacked, I used to hang out with them. One day Itachi found out about it. It made him really angry, the things he heard them say. It was stuff I heard everyday at school, I never paid it any mind. I mean, who cares, right? Kids. Looking back on it, I think it made him jealous. I think that's why he did what he did with me and on some level I blamed the nobles for making my brother…do those things. For making him touch me…in a way I didn't like being touched. I never really stopped to think about why I hated the nobles before, but that's the reason."

Naruto's brow furrowed in thought as Sasuke continued.

"He used to tell me it was okay to like it so long as nobody knew I liked it. Itachi said what we were doing could only be done at night, when we were alone and nobody could know. It would be the worst shame and humiliation if anyone knew what we were doing. But if it was just between us and, more importantly, done with family then it was okay."

Sasuke paused to pick up a twig. He methodically broke off tiny pieces of it as he spoke.

"My brother used to always threaten to tell my friends or our parents that I was a little fag boy. He'd threaten me for stupid crap like not giving him something that belonged to me or for crying whenever he…touched me. Sometimes…a lot of times, I used to like it. My body, I mean. It would like how it felt when Itachi did things and …and I wanted him to like me, to not hurt me, so I let him." Sasuke's head hung as he pressed the heels of his hands against the sudden tears that sprang up. "I just wanted him to like me like normal brothers do and not be mean. I let him do it for a whole year and I never told on him. I loved him even though I hated him. I just wanted him to love me back."

Naruto swallowed. It was a strange thing that Sasuke's tears could call forth his own. Crying was not a natural or common thing to him. The only time he could remember doing it was once when he was three and a dung beetle had bitten him and when Sasuke left his apartment some nights ago. Naruto frowned sternly at the flames, blinking his eyes hard to hold back the wetness that stung them. Why did his stomach hurt at Sasuke's words?

Sasuke cried hard for all of five minutes before he was able to suck his tears in and get a grip. He took a few deep, shuddery breaths before peeking in Blondie's direction. "Do you…do you hate me for that? For letting my brother do those things?"

Naruto looked at Sasuke with an unfazed expression. Evidently gay sex was not something to be done between brothers. Naruto had no clue, but he knew it didn't change his feelings. "No. Nothing you do will make me hate you." He said the words simply, because it was simple fact. Like saying he was male.

Sasuke felt as if a mountain rolled off his shoulders. He actually grabbed a handful of grass to keep from floating into the air. He smiled broadly for a minute, taking in the absolute acceptance Blondie always offered. Blondie was his rock, his anchor. It made Sasuke feel strong enough to continue.

"I guess that's why I could never admit to what we did. Not out loud anyway. It just always felt so wrong afterward…even though it felt good. Like what I did with my brother felt wrong and good." Sasuke looked at Blondie a moment. "I guess I'm really fucked up."

Naruto, remembering Konohamaru's words, felt knowledgeable enough to respond. "Yes, I guess you are."

Sasuke barked a small laugh at hearing the stoic voice that was delivered in. Then he resumed speaking.

"The nobles are the ones in power because they have money and influence. Superior techniques, in most cases. It's a common practice to make offerings to the gods for continued prosperity among the nobles. My clan took it one step further."

Here Sasuke could visibly be seen to tense up. His words came slower, though still without pause. Naruto felt his own skin tighten in response to whatever was coming.

"I never really thought about it when I was younger, but if it's true that the nobles run Konoha, then the Uchihas ran the nobles. They pretty much ran everything since Hashirama and his brother died. They were slowly becoming the law in the village and the Third couldn't really do anything to stop it."

Sasuke stopped talking. Naruto watched as Sasuke stared into the flames as if trying to read words there. His white brow knitted in concentration, in effort…in puzzled, disbelieving shame. The next words came in a whisper that the blazing fire nearly drowned out with its merry crackling, but Naruto's keen ears caught every syllable.

"People. My clan. Ate people. Every year they would make their offering to the gods the same as the other nobles, but they used human sacrifices. They would offer the most promising Uchiha of that year to the seven gods of luck and prosperity in exchange for continued wealth and good fortune. For power. Then…after the sacrifice…they would have a feast and eat the person."

Naruto, ignorant of just about everything under the sun, shivered at the thought of eating a person. Sasuke swallowed, still speaking in that mesmerizing, mesmerized whisper.

"The Uchihas were hated for that practice. It was considered a corruption of the old beliefs of the land to kill for personal gain and achievement. No one could speak against them, though, because that person usually found themself sacrificed as a special extra treat for the gods. When I was seven…my mom and dad came into my room one morning."

Sasuke looked away from the fire at last. He looked off into the night and Naruto thought maybe he was crying. Sasuke wasn't, though. When he turned his dark head to face forward again, Naruto saw that Sasuke's visage was pale and haunted. His lips were pressed tightly together. It was a long time before Sasuke spoke again. These words were halting. Forced and dragged from Sasuke's lips.

"They were so happy, smiling and crying and kissing me. They held me and hugged me. I thought maybe my teachers had said something nice about my schoolwork or something. They told me I was this year's Chosen." Sasuke's eyes were far away.

* * *

_"What do you mean, mommy? Chosen for what?"_

_"Chosen as the clan's offering to the gods, Sasuke. It was to be your brother, but you are better than he was at your age. It is obvious you will surpass him. And you were always kinder, sweeter. The entire clan is sure the gods will be most pleased with you. Your sacrifice will bring us much luck and honor."_

_Sasuke looked back and forth between his parents. "I don't understand. What am I supposed to do?"_

_"Nothing, son," Fugaku said softly. "We will handle everything. You will only do as we say."_

_Sasuke was still uncertain, but his parents had never looked at him with such pride and love before, so he only smiled in return and scuffed his feet against the floor._

-oOo-

_Itachi came home from work early that day. Sasuke, Mikoto and Fugaku were gathered in the living room. Mikoto had just finished bathing Sasuke in a cleansing ritual with the help of some other clan members. Sasuke was standing on a silver stool, having his body rubbed with scented oil. Itachi could be heard talking before he entered the living room._

_"Mom! Dad? The Uchihas in ANBU were given early dismissal because the new Chosen's been selected. Who is-" He stopped when he saw what was going on in the living room. Sasuke jumped up and down on the stool, flapping his arms in the heavy embroidered fabric his attendants were trying to wrap him in. His eyes were shining with all the attention he was getting._

_"Itachi, it's me! I'm the Chosen! Mom says I'll get to be an offering to the gods, she said I'll actually meet them! Do you think I'll get to see Ebisu himself?"_

_Itachi dropped his weapon's pouch as he advanced haltingly into the room. His voice was raw as he denied Sasuke's words, his eyes round as saucers. Sasuke interpreted this as a look of jealousy and his little heart swelled with pride at besting his brother. He decided to rub it in a little._

_"Yeah and Mom said it was going to be you, that you were the Chosen but now I'm better than you so I get to be it. Nyaah!" Sasuke stuck his tongue out at his older brother. He hadn't even finished when he was knocked aside, his brother lunging for him wordlessly, a look of desperation on his face._

_Sasuke fell off his stool and landed in a tangle of red and gold brocaded cloth. He peeped through the folds to see every adult in the room restraining Itachi, their chakra glowing around them with the effort. It took five Jounins touching Itachi's forehead to knock him unconscious. Sasuke, momentarily forgotten, watched in fright. Why had his brother tried to hurt him in front of everyone? Itachi's private brotherly beatings were never as serious as what had almost happened just now._

_"I thought he might be a problem," Mikoto sighed. "Sasuke is the most important thing to him."  
_

_Fugaku hefted his elder son onto his shoulders. "I'll see that he's detained in the village holding cells until the ceremony is over." He pecked his wife on the cheek as he left._

_Sasuke gasped when the material covering him was whisked away. Friendly hands picked him up and set him straight on his stool again. He was dressed and combed and made to sit down while other preparations were made. One of the women who dressed him pinched his thigh and smacked her lips. "That will be a tender morsel!"_

-oOo-

_At twilight, Sasuke was led by his mother and father, who held his hands, to the central part of the Uchiha compound where a fountain punctuated the plaza built there. It was a small plaza, nothing major, but the fountain was currently turned off. Sasuke heard another child in the waiting crowd ask his mother why the water was off. The mother told her young son that the tiered basins would catch the offering's blood tonight so that it might be drunk by a select few. If they were lucky, she said, they might get to taste a few drops._

_Sasuke's hands went clammy. Offering's blood. That couldn't be right since he was the offering. That would mean his blood. His blood that the woman wanted to drink. Sasuke looked behind him with a frown, searching the woman out in the sea of faces. Everyone held a fat white candle and her face blended with the other eerily lit ones in the crowd. He turned around when his mother placed him on the top tier of the fountain._

_"Neh, Mommy? I'm not going to get hurt, am I?"_

_"No, sweety. You'll go to sleep and then you'll see the gods."_

_"Oh. When will I wake up?" He took a cup that was handed to him by his father. The cup was hammered gold, inlaid with a motif of the seven gods of luck. It held dark, sweet-smelling liquid. Sasuke sipped tentatively, then eagerly. The syrupy liquid was very tasty._

_"You will never wake up, my son." Fugaku had that expression of mixed love and pride on his face again. Sasuke suddenly didn't like that expression, thought it was a dangerous look._

_"What do you me-mean n-nev-" the cup fell from his suddenly nerveless fingers. His body felt weightless, numb, like air. He could see and hear but he couldn't move or speak. When his parents took hold of his body and stretched it out in the shallow bowl of the top tier, he didn't feel their touch at all. He was getting really scared, especially when incantations to the seven gods began, the hundreds of throats making the chanting reverberate through the whole compound._

_Night had fully fallen, making the candlelight the only illumination. Sasuke was starting to feel lightheaded and dizzy. Incense was burned as people came up to him one by one and asked that he carry messages and requests to the various gods, begging him to intercede with them on their behalf._

_Sasuke was scared, disoriented, but he still thought things would be okay. He trusted his mom and dad when they said he wouldn't be hurt. He believed them when they-_

_It was fugaku who brought the ceremonial blade and held it over Sasuke in both hands, pointing it towards the heavens, letting it catch the candlelight of the fervent supplicants around the plaza._

_Sasuke tried to scream, tried to move, but it was futile. That blade quivered, turned, pointed towards him and descended. Sasuke's eyes bulged as he screamed in his mind, screamed and screamed and-_

* * *

 -screamed. Sasuke was screaming, his hands gripping his cheeks until they bled. His eyes bulged from their sockets.

Naruto punched him. Sasuke went down without another sound.

Minutes passed as Naruto knelt over Sasuke. He'd tried calling his name during that recitation of horrors, tried snapping him out of it, but Sasuke had kept right on talking as if compelled to get it all out. He'd reached the part about the knife and his screams were enough to stir the dead. Punching him had been the only thing Naruto could think of to bring him to his senses.

He waited, elbows on thighs, hands resting between his knees. Sasuke came around slowly. His nose was bloody. He swiped at it absently as he sat up and shook his head. He looked around the camp until his eyes met Naruto's. Sasuke looked down at his lap. He looked at his filthy nails, put one in his mouth as he sucked the dirt from under it.

Naruto did not say anything or ask that he continue. It was a prime opportunity for the blond to comfort this most important person to him, had he any decency, but Naruto had no such refinement. Had Sasuke asked, it would have been given and freely…but he didn't ask. He only waited until his insides stopped jerking and shuddering, waited until his mind receded from the edge of madness, waited in the dark with Blondie.

Blondie was with him. He'd heard everything so far and he was still right there, his rock. Sasuke turned to look into those severely direct blue eyes now.

"Blondie. Will you ever push me away again?"

Blue considered black as the question was picked over. A truth was realized, acknowledged and uttered:

"I will never push you away again. No matter the circumstances. Together until death. Then together again."

Sasuke felt an urge to vomit, so strong was the love in him. It was tearing him to pieces, killing him. He had to let it out or die:

"There's no life for me without you, Blondie. You're it. You're my…everything. You're everything, oh, God." And still it wasn't enough. Never enough. He turned from the blue eyes that killed him each time he looked in them. Better. He could breathe again.

Silence by the campfire. Though feet apart, each was aware of the other's pulse, of every pore, every breath in the other. Seconds…minutes…an hour…

"Itachi saved me."

* * *

_It was like watching a rabid animal. Itachi flew over the fountain out of nowhere, carrying Sasuke with him, the knife grazing Sasuke on the meaty part of his arm instead of in his desperately beating heart._

_Itachi killed all in his path until he reached a wall. He set Sasuke against this wall and set his back to Sasuke. His stance said it all._

_If anyone planned on getting to Sasuke they'd have to kill Itachi first._

_Well, they tried. Sasuke was immobile where he sat, but he could see perfectly well that an enraged Itachi was not something one went up against and lived to tell of it. Sasuke had never seen anything like it. And_ he _had been chosen over his brother?_

_Eventually the clan started running. Itachi, given momentary respite, carried Sasuke to a nearby house, stormed through it until he found a basement and set his little brother down in it._

_"Stay here, little brother. I won't let anyone kill you." He kissed Sasuke's head and was gone._

_It was a while, but eventually Sasuke regained feeling in his digits, then his hands and feet and finally throughout his entire body. He rolled over slowly and looked around the dusty underground room. He could hear screams and pleas for mercy outside. There was a window that sat at ground level. Sasuke stood on a crate to see out of the smudged glass._

_Bodies everywhere. People running, cut down by Itachi. Bloodcurdling screams. People cowering in corners, murdered heartlessly. Attempted defense of women and children by fathers and husbands. No mercy, none at all to be had from the young ANBU captain, the Sharingan wielder who killed, turned, killed and killed again. Sasuke watched his clan murdered before his eyes. And all to save his life._

* * *

  _Dawn. Itachi was walking back from the last kill to where he'd hidden Sasuke. He would take him and leave this place, start over with his little brother…_

_ANBU. They were everywhere around the Uchiha compound, kicking the dead bodies, noting that none were alive. Several were executing fire techniques and setting the houses ablaze. The bodies were being piled and burned as well. Itachi ran forward._

_"So it_ was _you," one tiger- masked man said. "We thought we recognized your chakra signature. You put an end to their evil ways. You've done well, Itachi. Hokage says you can live if you leave the village. Now move, we have our orders to burn the place to the ground."_

_"My brother-"_

_"You mean him?" the masked man pointed. Sasuke was laid out some feet away from a pile of dead bodies. "He's dead. We found him in a basement."_

_Itachi was shaking his head before the ninja had stopped speaking. He ran forward. No. No, it couldn't be. Sasuke was fine, was waiting for him, he-_

_He wasn't breathing. There was no pulse. The body was still warm._

_There were no injuries on him that Itachi could see. He was forced to let him go when one of the ANBU roughly took Sasuke's body and tossed it onto the top of the pile of dead. Itachi had nothing left. He watched blankly as his brother's body fell limply._

_Itachi, nearly mad with the knowledge that he'd killed his entire clan to save his brother, only to have his brother die anyway, turned and walked away. He left Konoha in a state of shock that lasted years. He was never the cocky, snarky, bellicose boy ever again._

_The ANBU Jounin with the tiger mask smirked and chuckled to his friends. He went to Sasuke's body and pulled it off the pile. "That'll teach the little fucker to take my captain's spot before his balls even drop." He knelt, unmasked Sasuke's chakra and removed the senbon needles secreted deep in the boy's skin that had hidden his pulse. He'd been waiting to pay Itachi back for getting to be captain before him for a long time. Just his luck that he'd found the brat in a basement and recognized him._

* * *

 "I didn't see Itachi after the basement. I stayed there like he said, but he never came back. I saw ANBU arrive and one kicked in the basement door. That's the last thing I remember before waking up in a hospital. The doctors and nurses were…"

Sasuke trailed off. He looked at the fire, still sitting in the position he'd adopted when he'd regained consciousness.

"They kept telling me I should have died. The night nurses were the worst. Sometimes they'd take me to the morgue and show me dead bodies, make me touch them and say that should be me. They'd stick me full of needles or cut me and heal me. The Third said I was to be kept alive." Sasuke looked back at his lap.

Naruto still crouched next to him, listening, bleeding for the lost little boy he'd been.

"Sometime while I was in the hospital I just…forgot. I forgot everything before that night, I didn't want to remember what my life had been like only to see what had become of it now. I didn't want to remember what my clan had done, how they'd all died because of me. When I was released, I was given a home, an apartment, since I was a noble, but the council had my name stricken from the nobility. The entire Uchiha clan was stricken. People came and kicked me out of my apartment. After that…I lived on the streets, I guess. I think the Third tried to help but I can't remember. I went to school sometimes. I forgot a lot of what I'd learned, though. I got hungrier and hungrier each day until it was a matter of survival. Villagers spat at me, harassed me…I didn't get good at defending myself until I was about ten. Then I started going to school again. I barely passed. I think Kakashi might have bribed the Chuunin officials to pass me because he didn't want me as a student anymore."

The fire was dying, going out as Sasuke's tale wound down.

"Orochimaru came and took me the day he killed the Third. I thought it would be fun at first, but…he was a sick fucker, seriously. There were all these kids at his mansion, all these devoted followers of his, I mean, shit, it was a freaking cult. I hated it there, hated him. One night I poisoned their water with some shit I found in his R&D lab. I thought he'd kill me for sure. He said I'd ruined him, killing off his best people like that. He said if he didn't have his Oral Rebirth Technique he would have been dead, too. He kicked my ass back to Konoha saying I wasn't worth his precious curse seal.

"I've been here ever since, doing nothing, not living, not remembering. Until you, Blondie. You changed everything. You changed me."

Sasuke, finished at last, stared at his hands. Naruto regarded Sasuke's hands as well, tilting his head thoughtfully.

"Yes," Naruto said softly. Sasuke looked up at him, but Naruto's eyes were still on the dirty hands. "I understand that. I cared about no one, nothing. Then you came and I felt…feel…things. You make me feel, Sasuke. You make me live. Until you, I was dead."

Sasuke wondered if it embarrassed Blondie to say the things he did like it embarrassed Sasuke. He didn't think so. Blondie didn't give fuck one about people's opinions of him. He was shut down. And yet he said Sasuke made him come alive.

"Am I yours, Blondie?" Softly, so softly that the words could have been the faint breeze passing between them.

"Yes. Mine."

They looked at each other in the dead of night, the witching hour upon them. Sasuke's heart sped up. He suddenly wanted Blondie's arms around him, he wanted Blondie's whole body around him and on him and in him. He wanted Blondie to swallow him whole.

Naruto held the gaze for awhile, then stood up. It seemed the tale was told. Now he knew his Sasuke. Knew his hurts and secrets. He knew why Sasuke did and thought the things he did. He _understood_ another person at last.

Sasuke wilted when Naruto walked to his pack and began eating. A hunk of bread was held out to Sasuke, who shook his head in mute refusal. He didn't want food. Naruto withdrew the offer and ate it himself.

Sasuke tried to think if he'd ever approached Naruto when they were both wide awake and aware. Approached him forthrightly and deliberately. Like in an obvious way. No. He never had. And he really didn't have the guts to do it now, not when his feelings for the guy were so raw and bloody and doing fatal damage to his innards with each breath he took.

But he wanted him. Like…he could not sit there and watch Blondie eat and chew and swallow and lick his lips and-

Fuck! Fuck. Dammit.

After everything, after the confession and knowing Blondie loved him and wanted him and all that. After facing his issues with sex and homosexuality, he _still_ couldn't just go to him, balls out and be with him? Well…well, maybe it took time. You know, for one to get their shit in order after …whatever the hell this was.

But he didn't want time, he wanted Blondie and now. Maybe if he dropped a hint?

Naruto finished eating. His mind had been on one thing for quite some time now: it was night time. He had a blanket in his pack. He wanted to spread the blanket and wait for Sasuke to approach as he was accustomed to the act taking place, but didn't know if it was right considering all the things Sasuke had revealed tonight. He thought it best if he let Sasuke tell him if and when he was ready to have gay sex with Naruto again. Likely it would take some time. Like a skittish animal took time to feel comfortable around Naruto's wild smell and presence. He sat on his haunches, oblivious to the concept of comforting another by virtue of the fact that he'd never received any. The most his limited mind could come up with was that since he himself internalized adversity and dealt with it there, that all people did. Perhaps Sasuke would too.

He was aware of Sasuke being extremely different from him without realizing all that that entailed. Naruto waited on the other side of the glowing embers, listening to the night sounds while allowing Sasuke his time to compose himself.

Sasuke simply didn't know what went on in Blondie's head. What to do, what to do?

_Just get up and go to him, kiss him-_

_No! Oh, God._

_Wuss._

_Yes, I am._

_Coward._

_Yes, I am._

_He's never turned you down, you know._

_Yeah, but…_

_But?_

_But…just going to him and asking for it…just feels wrong._

_It didn't feel wrong when he was fuc-_

_Alright, alright, Jesus. I know. It's not the doing it part, it's the approaching part. The here-I-am-gay-and-proud moment when I'm acknowledging I want it._

_So…you prefer to bump and touch him while pretending to be half asleep so you can act like whatever happens is an accident?_

_Pretty much._

_You are such a douche._

_I know._

Sasuke's little dialogue with himself wasn't helpful. He sat staring at Blondie, hoping he would take the hint that way. Tomorrow he would grow a pair, a stone pair and deal with his issues but tonight he just needed Blondie to start things off.

-oOo-

Naruto glanced at Sasuke, found him staring, and held the gaze. After a moment, he looked away. Those eyes wanted things, things that Naruto had no idea how to interpret. It should be noted that Naruto was not exactly comfortable at the moment. His organ was swelling the longer this silence stretched out. He was very sorry, very very sorry, but the need rising in him was too insistent to be ignored for much longer. He wouldn't be able to allow Sasuke his time to deal with his grievances. Naruto's eyes turned red-

No. He would maintain control even if it killed him.

It didn't mean he couldn't set out a little bait for the skittish animal, though.

Naruto went to his pack, took out his blanket and spread it carefully on the ground within full sight of Sasuke's watching eyes. He stood and dropped his pants, tugged his shirt off and lay down on the far half of the blanket, nude, his back to Sasuke. He reasoned that presenting his back would seem less threatening.

Sasuke's jaw dropped. The dude was going to sleep! He'd just bared his soul and Blondie was turning his back and going to sleep. His heart hurt him terribly. What about all the things Blondie had said about Sasuke being his and …and everything? Sasuke blinked back tears. He crawled to the very edge of the blanket and lay as far away from Blondie as he could. What had happened?

Naruto tensed as Sasuke lay down. Why wasn't Sasuke touching him like he usually did? Naruto threw a glance over his shoulder. Sasuke wasn't shivering and he hadn't said he was cold, so Naruto couldn't use that excuse to touch him. Maybe he just needed more time. Naruto, schooled well by Sasuke not to make the first move, grit his teeth as his fangs lengthened and his vision blurred with lust. A low, hungry growl rumbled in his chest. He turned back around and dug his claws into the dirt.

Sasuke shut his eyes tightly, freezing already and trying to ignore it, trying to ignore Blondie ignoring him. His tears were hot. He bit his lip savagely to keep from making a sound. He could only assume that if he tried to touch Naruto, he would be rebuffed…

Naruto's mouth opened in a silent howl of acute sexual tension. Orange chakra baked off of him in waves. It was too much. Naruto turned and was crouching on all fours so swiftly and silently that Sasuke didn't know a thing. Naruto crept up to Sasuke and reached out a hand.

It hovered over Sasuke's hunched shoulder. Naruto extended a finger.

He let the claw graze Sasuke's arm, a tentative, questing, begging touch-

Sasuke flew at him, wrapping himself around Naruto as he searched for and found the full lips that left him slain to pieces with their sweetness. Naruto caught him reflexively, holding him, rolling with him, not knowing what was happening. Then he didn't care.

They rolled off the blanket. Naruto was bestial in his hunger for Sasuke, bruising his mouth with his own, digging his nails into the flesh of Sasuke's flank, the slim leg thrown over Naruto's hip. Sasuke's nails raked down Naruto's back and the blond purred strongly in pleasure, biting Sasuke's chin.

Naruto's mouth dragged lower, eating Sasuke everywhere, chewing his skin, making Sasuke scream and squeal and twist in delight and pain. Sasuke held onto Blondie, encouraging every caress and touch. The shaggy blond hair brushed his stomach, pushing under his shirt, ripping it to shreds. Then his pants were gone. He was naked under the sickle moon, Blondie looming over him. A few heartbeats passed as they looked at each other.

Then Sasuke held his arms out and Naruto fell into them with a growl.

Sasuke gentled Naruto's urgency with his slow kisses, his unhurried strokes along Naruto's back and arms, his softly sighing exclamations of his pet name for Naruto. The demon chakra sizzled Sasuke's skin, adding to the heat already surrounding him from Blondie's body. Finally, when Blondie lay on him quietly, kissing him deeply, Sasuke ventured to guide things.

He took Blondie's hand and sucked the first two fingers slowly, moving his tongue around them. Sasuke watched the red eyes become half-lidded with enjoyment. Naruto took his fingers from Sasuke's mouth and sucked them himself, while Sasuke leaned up and licked the fingers and Blondie's lips, his face, his mouth. After a minute, Sasuke took the hand and led Blondie's wet fingers to his ass, showing him how to insert one finger in the small hole.

Naruto caught on quickly. He pressed his thick finger deeply into the tight heat, making Sasuke gasp as the calluses rasped against his sensitive skin.

Blondie proved to be a natural at intuiting what needed to be done. He monitored Sasuke's reactions, his breathing and facial expressions until he knew Sasuke was comfortable with the one digit. Then he inserted a second, moving them in opposite directions, twisting and scissoring his fingers. Sasuke panted, hooking his hands under his knees and lifting them to grant more access.

Sasuke whined at feeling a third finger introduced. Blondie stopped the movement of his hand until Sasuke's breathing evened out, then resumed the waggling action of his fingers. Naruto leaned down and kissed Sasuke's delectable mouth, wanting to bite and draw blood, so sharp was his desire.

"Blondie. I'm ready," Sasuke whispered shyly. "Come to me."

Naruto positioned himself at once, thrusting into Sasuke with such urgency that the slim boy cried out sharply at the impact. Even prepared, the penetration stretched him uncomfortably wide. It was better than before, though. Not as painful. Blondie's weight pressed his cock deeply into Sasuke before he raised himself on his palms and began pounding powerfully into the boy he loved.

He hadn't thought about it before but Naruto decided he liked Sasuke's screams a lot. His coarse language and rough personality always melted away at night in the blankets and this shameless submission to what Naruto did to his body excited the blond unbearably. He moved harder and faster inside him, gritting his teeth against the pleasure/pain, bunching his muscles to hold back his release.

He was doing it again, Sasuke reflected incoherently, rubbing against that place inside Sasuke that just about blew the top of the Uchiha's head off with bliss. To not scream would have killed him. He groaned and yelled and writhed and scratched. He bit and punched and nothing stopped those movements. Sasuke didn't want them to stop.

They did, though, when Naruto pulled out of Sasuke to turn him on his hands and knees. Sasuke complied, to weak with pleasure to do otherwise. Naruto stabbed into him quickly and this deeper penetration had Sasuke dropping his head to his arms, breathing shallowly through his mouth in time to those hard thrusts. A little shriek escaped Sasuke each time Naruto's hips made contact with his own.

"Blondie!" Sasuke mewled as Naruto's large hand closed over the smaller boy's erection. He was losing it, Sasuke was losing his hold on his consciousness as his cock leaked profusely in Blondie's hand.

Naruto felt the moisture but knew Sasuke hadn't finished, not yet. He rubbed this moisture on Sasuke's organ, massaging firmly up and down as he did sex with him. Finally Sasuke bucked in his grasp, rearing up on his knees briefly. Naruto caught him under an arm, across his chest, holding Sasuke against his own chest as he also finished explosively inside him.

Sasuke felt Blondie lower his nearly comatose body to the grass before pulling out of him gently with a faint 'pop'. Sasuke was deliciously spent, floating on a cloud of heavenly aftershocks from his orgasm. He was sure Blondie would cuddle him on the blanket for the rest of the night, just the way he liked.

Well, Naruto did pick him up and carry him to the blanket, but he didn't cuddle Sasuke. Instead, he spread Sasuke's unresisting thighs and settled his head between them. A moment later Sasuke felt that long, wet, supple tongue lick all traces of cum and sweat from his well-used hole. The tongue even pushed inside of him, making Sasuke raise his hips before Naruto clamped his hands around them and held them still. Sasuke shuddered and sobbed at the delicious torture, especially when those fangs grazed his skin. The tongue then wrapped around the limp organ and drew it into Naruto's hot mouth.

Sasuke arched off the ground, his hands digging into Blondie's scalp as he gasped for air. Naruto did not let up at all, not even when Sasuke came weakly in his mouth several times.

At last, hours later, Naruto released his gentle suction on Sasuke's sweet organ, but only so that he could enter the listless boy again. Sasuke came around enough to hold onto Blondie with his strengthless arms, bracing himself for the rough ride, but it didn't come. This time Blondie fucked him slowly, sweetly, tenderly. He lay full length on Sasuke, nearly smothering him with his weight. Sasuke loved Blondie's heavy body, there was just so much to hang on to. So much to stand between Sasuke and all the bad things in the world. He was completely safe and protected. He was home, in Blondie's arms.

* * *

This time when Sasuke woke up in the morning, he remained enclosed in Blondie's arms as he reflected on how far he'd come in the past week. That a person could come so far in a few days would have been unfathomable to Sasuke had it not happened to him. He snuggled deeper into the large, muscular arms, liking the way Blondie's leg was thrown over both of his. Sasuke was nearly crushed and loving it. He smiled as he drifted back to sleep.

* * *

_ Epilogue _

_Naruto and Sasuke agreed later that morning, after comparing their impressions of last night, that communication would be something they needed to work on. They traveled all over the countries, avoiding hunter-nins, making their way in the world by means of Sasuke's quick brain and Naruto's strength._

_The two boys were devoted to each other, learning and growing together until they became inseparable._

_They grew wealthy with no particularly high morals to hinder them in the deeds they did. It was Sasuke who discovered that they were considered missing-nins and labeled in the Bingo book. Naruto was categorized as S-class. They celebrated gloriously that night._

_Eventually they came across Itachi, running with a gang of other S-class ninjas. The meeting between the divided brothers was intense._

_But that's another story._


End file.
